Revenant Girl
by The Demon Of Sloth
Summary: (AU) Jesse has been considered bad luck after her mother dies from an illness she caught after giving birth to her. Unwanted and unloved, she runs away after an attempted assassination on her, hoping to seek asylum. However, she may not be finding the sanctuary she hopes for in the wilderness of the outside world. Can she hope to avoid such a fate, or is there no way to escape...?
1. 0--Miracle Child

**Description:** All Jesse ever wanted was to be loved by her father, but he harbours a strong disdain towards her. She was considered bad luck after her mother died from an illness that she caught after giving birth to her. When he plans to assassinate her, she escapes from her castle in order to seek asylum. However, she may not be finding the sanctuary she hopes for in the wilderness of the outside world.

After all, her existence is a crime, and such a crime is punishable by death. Can she hope to avoid such a fate, or is there no possible way to escape?

 **Contains:** Horror, adventure, abusive adults, and madness in general.

 **Inspired by:** Genealogy Of Red, White and Black.

Revenant Girl

Chapter 0—Miracle Child

 _A Queen looked out from her window at the castle. There she prayed to God for a child. Hair as black as ebony, lips red as blood and skin white as snow. It was her only wish._

 _Sure enough, a beautiful baby was born soon after. Just like the queen wished for, the child had hair as black as ebony, lips red as blood and skin white as snow. She couldn't have been happier._

 _However, wishes came with a price. In exchange for the miracle child, the queen was cursed with a grave illness._

 _Despite that, the Queen did not care. She loved her child more than anything, and would do anything to protect her._

 _The King was not pleased to know that his queen came down with an illness after childbirth. He looked at his daughter with disdain and shook his head._

" _A curse. She's a curse." He said gravely._

 _The Queen shook her head. "No, she's a miracle._ Our _miracle."_

 **…**

Jesse walked through the dark stone hallway leading to the King's chambers. He was supposed to be there ages ago! She waited for a whole fifteen minutes, but when he did not show up, she decided to personally pick him up herself.

It was surprising to know that he was late. He was never late for her death anniversary, and in fact he would sometimes show up early. He would not arrange any meetings or attend any gatherings on her death anniversary. When he was not present at her grave at nine o'clock sharp, she knew that something was wrong.

"Daddy?" Jesse called out as she knocked on the grand double doors. There was shuffling of feet and the small clatter of objects, and the doors opened. It was not the King.

"Axel?" Jesse questioned, raising a brow.

The servant flinched slightly at the sight of her, but regained his composure shortly after. "Your Highness, I apologise for startling you. I'll be on my way." With that, he turned and left as abruptly as he came.

 _(Weird…)_ Jesse thought as she gingerly stepped in. She barely even took a second step when a towering figure stood in her way.

"Daddy?"

"You're in my way."

"Sorry…" Jesse mumbled as she stepped aside.

Without saying anything, he shut the doors and walked on ahead, a bouquet of wildflowers in his hand.

"Are those for mommy?" Jesse asked as she caught up with her father.

"Tch, of course. Why do you think I would be holding flowers for?" He scoffed, not bothering to make eye contact with her.

A long silence hung over the two as they made their way to the castle graveyards, a private graveyard where royals and important nobles were buried. At the very back where flowers were planted in abundance, was the grave of the late Queen. Fanciful statues of angels watched over the grave and a small fountain was situated at the right, where birds came to have a drink. They had a minute of silence, before they presented their gifts. Jesse gave a ruby necklace that she had the royal jeweller make.

"Mommy, I found your ruby that you lost so many years ago. I remember that you were very upset and you rejected the new one that was bought. I found it hidden in a rose bush in the garden, and I decided to turn it into a necklace so that you can wear it with you and won't lose it again! I hope you're happy, mommy."

The Queen had lost her prized ruby many years ago, and she had spent months trying to search for it. She even ordered all of the servants to search the entire castle for the jewel, but to no avail. Jesse had heard her mother crying over the loss of the ruby. The ruby wasn't bigger than her fist, so it wasn't too valuable. But she wondered why the ruby was so precious to her that no other bigger or shinier jewel could replace it.

Jesse curtseyed out of respect and left, giving her father the privacy he wanted. It was a tradition they had. Every anniversary, Jesse would offer her gift and say whatever she wanted to say first before she left to allow her father to have some alone time with her mother.

As she stepped out of the graveyard, a miniature pink figure came running towards her and stopped at her feet. It looked up to her with pleading eyes while lifting its forelegs.

Jesse giggled as she scooped up the animal and tickled its belly. It squealed and squirmed under her hold. She then placed the pig back on the ground. "Reuben! You cutie! How are you doing?"

Reuben oinked and jumped in delight.

"Aww, that's so sweet!"

"Oink!"

"Hehehe, I found mommy's ruby hiding in a rose bush in the garden, and I had the royal jeweller make it into a necklace. That way, mommy won't lose it ever again."

Reuben started running towards the back window of the castle and pointed his head at it. "Oink!"

"Huh? Oh no, I can't possibly do that! Daddy doesn't like animals in his castle! If he finds out we'll be in _big_ trouble!"

Dejected, Reuben bowed his head and poked at the ground with his forelegs.

Jesse took pity on him and gave in. "Alright. I'll bring my basket and you can hide inside. Just don't make any noise, okay?"

The pig squealed happily.

And so, Jesse was entrusted on a very dangerous mission of smuggling her pig to her chambers. She had to pass the never ending swarm of servants and guards, trying her best to act normal and praying that Reuben would not blow his cover. When they finally arrived at her chamber, she landed on the floor in a tired heap and the animal leaped out of the basket in glee. It then proceeded to take in his new surroundings with much enthusiasm.

While Reuben was exploring the bedroom, Jesse sat herself on a chair and started studying. She was supposed to read up on the history of the Order Of The Stone for a test the day after. If she failed the test, her tutor would not be happy.

After two hours of nonstop reading and memorising, it was already lunchtime. Jesse gently reminded Reuben to behave and to not leave the room at all costs, before heading to the dining hall.

The private dining hall that was reserved for the King and his family was the size of a football field, with many torches latched onto the walls with a giant chandelier to boot. Up to this day, Jesse had a feeling that the massive chandelier would give way and crush her while she was eating.

There her father was at the end of the ridiculously long table, silently eating his meal. She took her seat at the other end and settled into her meal. As usual, both parties did not exchange any words and solely focusing on their current tasks.

Once upon a time, the hall used to be a lively place. Her mother and father would often pass sarcastic remarks to one another while discussing about the day's events. If they were in a good mood, they would make many jokes that filled the hall with laughter. But with her mother gone, her father never smiled anymore. His temper also worsened.

Jesse had never really seen her father blow his top, except for that one time where she eavesdropped on her parent's heated argument one night. She had a nightmare and wanted to sleep with her mommy and daddy in hopes of chasing the nightmare out of her mind. However, after hearing their violent argument that included shouting, screaming, cursing, smashing and hurling of objects, she reconsidered her decision. Moments later her father stormed out of the chamber, fuming. Her mother remained. She paced up and down, muttering a string of curses and hurled something through the doors after yelling, "Stupid thing!" Jesse picked it up and realised it was her favourite ruby, which somehow got lost a few days later.

Jesse could vividly remember the days following her mother's funeral. He became extremely demanding and unreasonable, yelling at the servants whenever they did something that displeased him. She had heard that the servants whom had displeased the king were executed at the Death Bowl. It may have been true, as she recognised the few servants who sparked her father's temper and seemingly disappeared from existence the next day.

His temper had somewhat calmed down slightly as the years passed, but it still was pretty bad. What if she tried talking to him now? He didn't seem to be in the mood to talk, but then again there was no way he would bear to execute his _daughter_.

"...Daddy?" Jesse spoke tentatively.

He showed no signs of having heard her. She tried again, louder this time. "Daddy?" Still no response. "Uhhmm… dad? Can I… speak to you for a moment?"

It seemed that he did not even acknowledge his daughter's existence, until he paused from his meal and looked up with a blank expression. "What? Spit it out—I don't have all day."

 _(Finally!)_ "I was just wondering… if we could chat for a while. I would like to know more about… politics."

He snorted. "Oh puh-leze. Never in my lifetime have I ever seen you interested in anything but politics. Why the hell do you even wanna talk about that shit anyway? I never even liked it in the first place. I'm sick and tired of tolerating stuck up ministers and nobles. So shut up for the rest of the day, okay?" He then took a few last bites of his meal before walking out coldly, leaving Jesse alone with her lunch, silence and her thoughts.

 **…**

" _...and with the famed finishing blow from Gabriel, the Ender Dragon was defeated and the Order emerged victorious!"_

" _Yay!" Jesse exclaimed as she waved a wooden sword above her head. "Take that, Ender Dragon!"_

 _The Queen giggled as she placed down the closed book on her lap. "Alright Jesse, story time's over, time for bed."_

 _Jesse whined and slumped her shoulders. "Awww, can you read another one? I want you to tell me that story when dad blew up your contraption!"_

 _The Queen shook her head in amusement. "I thought I told you that yesterday. I bet he did that on purpose, that scoundrel. He knows how fragile redstone is. Anyway, I gave him a beating and sentenced him to sleeping in the guest room, while I sorted out my work."_

 _Jesse giggled._

" _Now, I think it's time for you to go to bed." At this, Jesse obeyed and tucked herself under the velvet covers of her king sized bed. Her mother gave a goodnight kiss, turned off the lights and gently closed the door._

Jesse sighed as she picked up a picture frame containing her mother's picture. She looked absolutely beautiful in her satin red and orange gown, while her hair was silky and glowed under the lighting. Her father had ordered every single photograph and portrait of her mother destroyed after her death. Jesse had taken great care to hide the last remaining photo of her so as to not forget her face.

"Mommy… why did you have to go? We were so happy back then. If you never left, perhaps all those poor servants could have lived, and daddy would still be smiling. Why…?"

The howl of chilling wind and Reuben's light snores were her only response.

 **Yay, I finally got my MCSM fanfic published! And royalty AU is my favourite genre of fanfiction. There** _ **will**_ **be hints of canon here and there, don't worry!**

 **Tip: FemJesse's parents are canon characters from the game. I won't be surprised if you managed to guess who; I gave out a few obvious hints. I wanted to keep their identity a secret until later, but oh well.**


	2. I--The Fifteenth Birthday

Revenant Girl

Chapter I—The Fifteenth Birthday

 _Abaddon is a very powerful kingdom that specialises in highly explosive weaponry, and their huge army is known to be merciless on the battlefield. The first king of Abaddon, King Jaspar I ruthlessly took over many hectares of land from many other rivaling kingdoms to expand his own kingdom. He was planning on invading Redstonia, but realised that that particular kingdom was exceptionally talented in building complicated redstone machinery and made an alliance instead._

 _Every kingdom that the king invaded, he had the acting ruler killed and his people were forced to join his army. He realised that the citizens of Redstonia would use their machines to contribute greatly to his kingdom if they worked together. The King of Redstonia, Klein II would contribute his kingdom's machines and inventions that would help enhance the daily lifestyles of the Abaddonis, and in returns they would offer Redstonia protection from rival kingdoms. The alliance of the two kingdoms blah blah blah remained strong up till this day yap yap yap despite the great differences between them yada yada yada..._

Jesse groaned as she slammed her face into the book. She was studying the history of Abaddon and Redstonia, and she did not find it appealing the least bit. It was not that she didn't appreciate history; it's just that she was too fidgety and distracted to focus on her studying, and there was a reason behind it.

Reuben stood at the foot of her chair and oinked to get her attention, apparently getting bored of watching Jesse study the whole morning.

She pushed her book aside and looked down. "Yes Reuben? Are you still hungry? I thought I gave you a really large carrot for breakfast."

Reuben shook his head. "Oink!"

"Ohh, you're excited too, huh?"

The pig nodded his head enthusiastically.

Giggling, she looked at her calendar where many days were crossed out, and a few remaining days were left until it reached a particular day where a drawing of a cake with candles was drawn. "Uh huh, I can't believe it either. After two more days it's going to be my fifteenth birthday!"

Ever since her mother died, there was never any grand celebration held within the castle walls. Birthday parties were a thing of the past, holiday celebrations were quietly celebrated by themselves, and the royal family aren't big about milestone events any more, they just gave a simple 'congratulations' and that was it.

Despite that, Jesse never let the absence of grand parties dampen her mood. She still had her best friends, Reuben and Axel. They had a small birthday party in her chambers every year with a cupcake as a substitute for a cake. Axel was a busy man, and there was no guarantee that he would show up at every party, but he always bought her a gift that he could afford with his measly salary. Reuben also got her gifts, like a pebble or a flower. They weren't extravagant like the ones she got from her godfather or uncles, but it was the thought that counted.

"Oink!" Reuben then left, dashing off to rummage through her wardrobe and drawers; not that Jesse minded. He was probably going to find some scrap objects to put together as a birthday gift, or he was bored and decided to play on his own.

…

While walking down the hallways, Jesse was so focused in shielding her basket that she bumped into a large figure and fell on her bottom.

"Oww…" Jesse winced from the pain as she hurriedly tidied the cloth that hid Reuben.

"I sincerely apologise, Your Highness, I wasn't looking where I was going."

Looking up, a burly man in a servant uniform outstretched his hand towards her, which she graciously accepted.

"Axel! You gave me a scare!"

Axel laughed good-naturedly as he scratched the back of his neck with his other free hand. "I apologise again. Say, what are ya going to do with Reuben?"

It was no secret to Axel that Jesse would sometimes sneak Reuben into the castle with a basket. On the rare occasion when he had some spare time, he would accompany her to the gardens to play with the pig. He knew that his king _hated_ animals in his home (the last time a squirrel snuck in through a window, he had grabbed it by the neck and threw it down from the tallest tower) and vowed to keep the truth of her basket a secret.

"He wanted some fresh air, so I'm taking him out. Wanna join?"

Axel shook his head dejectedly. "Sorry, no can do. My schedule's really tight today. But have fun anyways." He waved goodbye and Jesse waved back, before she continued walking.

When she reached the gardens, she sat herself on a comfortable patch of grass and tipped the basket, allowing Reuben to run free.

The gardens were Jesse's haven from stress and the troubles of the adult world. She did not like being cooped indoors, and wished to go out and play in the fields with all the other kids. The garden satisfied her craving for outdoors and adventure, even though the garden was still technically part of the castle. There she would play various games with Reuben and the critters that resided there. Sometimes her mother would join her, and they always had a whale of a time making flower crowns and relaxing under the sun.

Her father never joined them however, and only came to the gardens if he needed his wife to return back and settle some issues. Jesse didn't like the tall, imposing figure of her father rudely abrupting her time together with her mother.

The squeal of Reuben caught Jesse's attention. He was jumping up and down in excitement, his snout pointing skyward as if saying, 'come here, come here! I found something amazing!'

She walked towards him and looked at the direction he was looking. To her amazement, he was pointing to a particular cloud that looked like a pig.

"Aww, look at that! It's so cute!" Jesse said as she lay down onto the grass with Reuben next to her. They continued to cloud gaze, pointing out various clouds that looked like animals or objects.

…

 _Laughing in pure bliss, Jesse started running around the garden chasing a rabbit. They were playing a game of tag, accompanied by her mother as she sat there and watched them play._

" _And… there! All done!" The Queen said, satisfied._

" _What is it mommy?" Jesse asked as she returned back with a squirming rabbit in her arms._

 _The Queen smiled as she placed her handiwork on top of her daughter's head._

" _A flower crown!" Jesse exclaimed as she raised her right hand to touch it. The flowers petals were very soft to the touch. "It's wonderful, thank you mommy!" She then released the rabbit before embracing her mother._

 _The Queen returned the gesture, running her fingers through Jesse's ebony black hair lovingly. It was a relatively tender moment between mother and daughter, until heavy footsteps started heading towards them._

 _The third party coughed to get their attention._

" _Oh, hello dearie. I see that you found us." The Queen said._

" _Duh, Captain Obvious." The King remarked._

 _Jesse broke up the embrace and turned to face her father. "Daddy, look! Mommy made me a flower crown! Do you like it?"_

 _The King took a mere glance at the flower crown, raised an eyebrow and said flatly, "uh huh. Sure… yeah."_

 _Noticing his unimpressed expression, the Queen scoffed. "You don't like it? I_ personally _made it for Jesse. It took me time and effort to make it!"_

" _Tch, yeah yeah. I bet it took you_ so _much hard work to make some stupid little flower accessory." Her husband scoffed and rolled his eyes as if it was the worst made flower crown in existence._

" _I bet you can't even make one."_

" _Hah, at least I know how to create highly explosive weapons, which is_ much _better than your flower crown."_

" _Oh yeah? You can't even build a simple circuit if your life depended on it."_

" _As if I need dumb circuits to save my life."_

" _With you and our reckless explosive 'experiments', I won't be surprised if you kill yourself."_

" _With you working away like a madwoman, I won't be surprised if you work yourself to death."_

 _Jesse just sat back and watched her parents bicker. It wasn't surprising to see them argue over everything. After all, they were polar opposites. Her father was brash and reckless while her mother was calm and collected. With them at each other's throat's every day, it was difficult to imagine them together in the same room, let alone being married._

 _After approximately fifteen minutes, they got tired of arguing, and the King returned his focus onto the actual reason he came here, which was to get his wife to help out with some affairs. Jesse was reluctant for her mother to go, but she just squeezed her hand and promised to play with her again._

 _As her mother retreated back into the castle, her father remained. She wondered why he was still here._

 _The rabbit that she released earlier emerged, clutching a carrot in its mouth. It looked for a suitable place to nestle and began to eat its meal. Jesse approached the animal and sat down beside it, watching the animal nibble on the carrot._

 _Her father stepped in front of the rabbit, and to her surprise he kicked it and sent it flying into a nearby rose bush._

" _Daddy! What was that for? Mr Rabbit didn't do anything to you!" Jesse exclaimed._

 _Her father just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "It annoyed me." He then turned and left._

 _Jesse rushed to the rose bush and attempted to pry the rabbit out from the thorny bush. She was successful, but it left her arms and dress with ugly cuts. She then gently cradled the animal in her arms, examining its injuries. Cuts scarred its entire body, its hind leg was twisted in a grotesque angle and its right ear was bent._

" _I'm so sorry, Mr Rabbit. Daddy's just… a little grumpy, that's all." Jesse tore off a small portion of her long dress sleeve and wrapped it around the shivering rabbit. "Don't worry, I'll get help. Just hang in there…"_

…

Finally, after waiting for four tedious days, Jesse's birthday was here!

Reuben crawled onto her bed and shook her awake with much enthusiasm.

She could hardly contain herself as she got ready for the day. After breakfast she would go to the gardens to play with Reuben. After that she would write to her godfather and uncles, and after that she would patiently wait for Axel to finish his errands so that they would start the party straight after dinner.

When she arrived at the dining hall, she noticed that her father was nowhere to be seen. As much as he was not a morning person, his cramped schedule prevented him from sleeping in. There was no reason for him not to be present for breakfast; unless he was eating in his chambers (it was rare of him to do that).

After eating breakfast, Jesse proceeded to have a fun-filled morning with Reuben in the garden. They played many games such as hide-and-seek, tag and hopscotch.

After the duo was drained of energy, they returned back to her chambers. Reuben peacefully slept on a pillow beneath the window where the soft rays of sunlight filtered through, while Jesse was busy writing letters. Godfather came first, followed by Uncle Gabriel and Uncle Ivor. No two letters were the same, as each one had their own unique content.

When she had finished writing them, she handed the letters to the royal mailman personally. Since Jesse was not allowed to send letters, she couldn't just chuck them to a random servant and order them to mail it.

With all her impending tasks out of the way, Jesse remained at the library reading. As she was on her fifth book, a servant summoned her to dinner. Just like lunchtime, he was not present. She found it very weird for him to hide in his chambers for three meals straight. Perhaps this was a new habit of his?

It felt strange eating her meal alone. She and her father never really talked to each other, yet his absence made the silence in the hall more overpowering.

When Jesse retired to her chambers, she was disappointed when Axel was nowhere in sight. It looked like she was celebrating her birthday another year without human company. Oh well, at least she still had Reuben.

However, she was in shock when she saw what was laid out on the floor. On a silver platter was a cake. An actual, freaking cake topped with soft whipped cream and bright red cherries. Her mouth started to water. How long was it since she had a slice of cake?

Next to it was a small firework gun with a note next to it which read: _Sorry I couldn't make it to your party. I have been saving up for so long just to buy this for you. Please accept my humble gift. –Axel._

 _P.S: Don't use the fireworks until I return. We can head out of town to use them, I promise._

So, the fireworks were from Axel, but what about the cake? Was it from him too? To a servant, a cake was entirely out of their league, not to mention that the fireworks must have cost him many months of his wages. If it wasn't from Axel, then who was it from?

The more she thought about it, the more she became suspicious of the cake. In the end, she decided to not eat it, paranoid of the cake being poisoned.

Reuben awoke from his (very) long nap and approached Jesse.

"Reuben, do you think that this cake is poisoned?" Jesse asked, pointing at the cake accusingly.

Reuben sniffed the cake before he picked up a plastic knife that lay beside the cake.

"You want me to cut it?" Reuben nodded.

After she cut a slice, Reuben dashed out of her chambers.

"Wait up!" Jesse yelled as she cupped the slice with her hands and chased after Reuben. They ran past many guards and servants through the hallways, but the staff were tired from their day and ignored them.

Soon they found themselves at the basement. It was very dim. Many wooden crates and sacks of food were stacked into high piles. Food that spilled out of holes from the sacks were scattered all over the floor, which provided an abundance of food for the rats that lived down here.

Reuben oinked as he pointed his snout at the cake, stomping his forelegs on the floor in an attempt to tell her something. It took a while for Jesse to understand.

"Oh, I get it! You want me to feed the cake to the rats to see if it's poisoned. That's genius!" Jesse placed the cake on the ground where the rats can easily reach it. She then patted Reuben fondly on the head before hiding behind the crates, waiting for her first victim.

It wasn't long before one rat found the cake. It checked to see if the coast was clear before indulging itself into the savoury treat. Soon, more rats came to have their share, and the slice of dessert was entirely gone after five minutes, with no crumbs left behind.

The rats sat there for a while with their bellies full. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, until one started to squeak, with the others following suit. Their squeaks were distressed and pained, and as each second passed their squeaks grew louder, until their cries reached into a crescendo. They started dropping dead one by one, falling like a stack of dominos.

Eve after the last rat breathed its last; Reuben was still quivering in fear, his tiny ears flat against his head. Jesse could only stare in shock.

…

The next morning, Jesse shakily seated herself on her assigned chair at the dining hall. After the discovery of the poisoned cake, she felt repulsed by her breakfast. What if it were poisoned too?

Jesse poked at her food with her fork, spreading her food throughout her plate to make it look as if she ate something.

The door burst open, and her father strolled in. When his eyes laid on Jesse, his cheery expression was replaced by a stormy one.

Jesse narrowed her eyes ever so slightly.

Her father sat himself down and ate his breakfast. He looked somewhat… angry? But he was smiling just a few seconds ago, for real!

Deciding to not draw attention to herself, Jesse bowed her head and picked up a piece of scrambled egg with her fork. She was about to eat it, but detected a whiff of strange odour in her food. She hesitantly placed her fork down, and noticed that her father was silently glaring at her.

"Well, aren't you gonna eat?" He asked in a gruff voice.

"Erhh… not really. I'm not all that hungry." Jesse lied.

"Oh really? Did you eat something… bad yesterday?"

"No, I don't think so. I guess I'm a little bit… sick. Yeah, sick! I woke up with a headache, and I feel a little feverish."

Her father gave her an I-know-your're-lying look. "Uh huh, but don't you think that you need to eat just a _little_ bit? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, y'know."

"No! I mean… yeah, I know it's really important and all, but I truly have no appetite whatsoever. So can I please be excused?"

Her father narrowed his eyes threateningly. "Now, don't you dare go against your daddy's orders. My order was to get you to eat your breakfast, and you disobey?"

Jesse started sweating and felt her hands starting to go clammy. "N-no! I wouldn't dare! It's just that I feel that the egg is not fresh, and the bacon is undercooked—"

The King slammed his palm on the table with great force, causing it to shake violently. Jesse jumped, her shoulders tense and her breath caught in her throat. She had crossed her father, and the very thought of what was about to come caused fear to ripple throughout her entire being. His face turned red with anger, looking like a volcano about to erupt.

"Shut _up!_ You blatantly refuse my orders, and you give yourself excuses to get away with your shitty behaviour!? Well, I'm not having any of it! Stay in your room for the rest of the day and don't you even _think_ of stepping a single foot out!"

"B-but-"

" **NOW!"**

With a defeated sigh, Jesse bowed her head in shame and humiliation as she trudged out of the dining hall. When she entered, Reuben looked up to her with a happy expression, but it was wiped off when she said, "I'm going to be stuck here for the rest of the day Reuben."

 **No points for guessing who the godfather is.**

… **Alright, maybe a virtual gummy bear?**


	3. II--Old Doll

Revenant Girl

Chapter II—Old Doll

" _What_ are _we doing, godfather?"_

" _We're collecting research data on the endermen. I thought I told you that already."_

" _But they're just standing there!"_

" _Why yes! Isn't it exciting?"_

 _Jesse shook her head._

" _Haha… of course a child like you would not understand yet. But sooner or later you will learn to appreciate the inner beauty of endermen, and who knows? Someday you might grow up to be an enderman expert."_

" _But I don't really like endermen…"_

 _Her godfather dismissed her claim with a swat of his hand. "Nonsense! Endermen are wonderful creatures, yes? Perhaps when you grow up your opinion on these fellow mobs will change."_

 _Jesse snorted as she rested her head on her arms. They currently seated on comfortable chairs overlooking a massive forest behind a large window, all in the comfort of her godfather's fortress. Due to the thick canopy providing much shade, an abundance of mobs would spawn, including endermen. Her godfather had a few pieces of paper secured on a clipboard as he scribbled down notes with a pencil. He appeared to be enthusiastic about his research. Good for him, because Jesse was definitely not having a great time._

 _Her godfather had promised that she would enjoy being his research assistant. He made it sound so thrilling and enticing, thus she agreed to take on the role._

 _The first few minutes were rather exciting. He gave Jesse a pair of binoculars to observe the endermen and she would report to him her findings. She was able to see them picking up random blocks and carry it around like it was some sort of sacred treasure. She also noticed how an ethereal purple mist seemed to embrace their stick figures, and how their eyes glowed the same eerie shade of purple. However, as time dragged on, Jesse no longer could find any new observation of the mob. They either stood there with their hands empty, or holding a block and walking aimlessly around the forest. She was getting rather bored, but her godfather was somehow able to find some sort of unnameable joy in watching the endermen standing cluelessly or walk around with blocks in their hands._

 _It wasn't long before Jesse was lulled to sleep by her godfather's endless lecture about endermen. When she woke up, he was absent from his chair._

 _Jesse thought that he just went for a restroom break, but after twenty minutes she got restless and decided to find her mother. Maybe she was busy with another redstone contraption and she could help her. It would be much more entertaining than watching that boring black mob._

 _When Jesse arrived at her mother's assigned bedroom, she was about to knock when she heard angry whispers behind the door._

" _I thought we agreed on this!" Her godfather said._

" _Don't blame me, blame him! He doesn't want me and Jesse to visit you so frequently anymore! He's starting to get suspicious." Her mother replied._

" _Well, why not I come to you instead?"_

" _NO! What the nether are you thinking! He'll just kick you out!"_

 _Her godfather groaned in annoyance. There was a screech of something being dragged across the stone floor. "So how are you going to solve this issue?"_

 _Her mother let out a muffled groan. "I don't know how we're gonna do this without giving Jesse an inkling of what's going on…"_

 _What were they talking about? What about not letting her know whatever that was going on between them? How did all of this relate to her father? So many questions swarmed in Jesse's head, but there were no answers to all those questions._

 _Just then, footsteps approached the door. She hurriedly took a few steps back and tried to make a run for it…_

" _...sse."_

" _Je...e"_

" _Jess….eee."_

"Jesse!"

Jesse yelped as she flung her arms wildly, smacking the person next to her on his cheek.

The person rubbed his sore cheek as he glared at the culprit. "Excuse me young lady, but who do you think you are? How dare you daydream during my lesson!"

"Sorry… Mr Calvin..."

He scowled. "Next time, know your position! You are but a mere student!"

Jesse nodded solemnly as she bit her bottom lip.

Reuben peeked from under a blanket to watch the commotion. When the tutor did not say another word afterwards and opened another hefty volume, he retreated back into the blanket.

Since Jesse was under room confinement, her tutor was given the privilege to drag his lessons for the entire day. She only had a short five minutes break in between, and she would either stare outside the window or take a sneak check at Reuben. Other than that, it was endless reading, writing and listening to his damn voice. Oh joy.

When the hour clock mercifully stroked seven, lessons were finally over. Jesse feigned respect and bided him goodbye, but when he left the room, she stuck out her tongue at him.

She went up to Reuben's hiding spot and lifted the blanket. He squealed in fright, but when he saw Jesse his tense expression melted into a happy one. "S'okay now. Stupid Mr Calvin is gone."

Reuben oinked in delight as he started running around the room with excitement. It had been almost nine hours since he had to hide under either the blanket or the bed. He had grew restless, and when the torture was finally over (for both of them), he couldn't be happier.

"Don't get too happy though. We're still stuck here until tomorrow."

Despite that, Reuben couldn't care less. At least he was able to move about freely.

Jesse lay down on her bed, exhausted from the long lesson. Reuben wanted to join her and she carried him up. She played with him until dinner was served.

As she ate dinner, she could not help but ponder over the dream—or memory that surfaced during her lesson. She was eight years old back then, but she wasn't stupid. There was something going on between them that she was unaware of. Probably her father was also kept in the dark about it too. She never dared to mention about it to her mother or godfather, fearing their reaction.

Jesse and her mother would often pay visits to godfather's massive fortress, where she would play all day with him while her mother would lock herself in the guest room doing whatnot. After some time, her father had forbidden mother and daughter to visit him again due to unknown reasons. She was only able to see him during some grand royal party, and after her mother died, there were no more parties, and that also meant no more visits from godfather.

The last time Jesse saw him was during her mother's funeral, where he comforted her when she was wailing uncontrollably. He tried to hold back his tears, but her cries were too effective and it made him sob as well. Jesse could remember hugging him as she cried, her tears and mucous soaking his clothes. Her godfather didn't mind, as his tears fell from his eyes and landed on her head.

Her father has a stoic facade throughout the funeral procession, and found her godfather annoying and sent him away. He may have been seen as the strongest, but in the privacy of his chambers, his wails were the loudest.

 **…**

When next morning arrived, Jesse and Reuben couldn't be happier. Immediately after breakfast and lessons with darned Mr Calvin, they went to play in the gardens, having a whale of a time.

Due to her new schedule that was rather tight, Jesse decided to let Reuben return to the garden with the other critters. He was rather disappointed, but she promised to come and play often.

That night, Jesse tossed and turned in her bed, unable to get to sleep. Sweat soaked her silk nightgown, making it cling onto her body. After it was certain that she would not enter the land of dreams anytime soon, she decided to retrieve some milk from the kitchens. She had heard that milk was able to help one fall asleep easier.

It was late at night and the atmosphere was tranquil. The only sounds that could be heard were the steady rhythm of footsteps made by the guards doing their rounds.

Jesse poured herself a glass and gulped it down, yet she did not feel the slightest bit drowsy. Sighing, she then decided to just walk around the castle to burn some energy and hopefully make her tired enough to sleep.

Jesse strolled down a hallway, made a turn and came face to face with a young woman in civilian clothes. She had her blonde hair tied in twin braids and was carrying a suitcase.

"Young lady, aren't you supposed to be in bed? It's already past eleven." The woman asked in a gentle voice.

Jesse shook her head. "Nope. I'm perfectly fine. I just couldn't sleep and wanted to walk around a bit."

She nodded slowly. "Alright then. Please sleep as soon as possible. It is unhealthy for a young lady to be sleeping at such late hours." With that, she turned on her heels and hurried off.

Jesse continued on her late night walk, heading up to the attic at the highest floor. It was filled with old paintings, vases, cutlery, supplies and knickknacks that the royal family dumped up here and left to collect dust. She had found it fascinating when she first came here when she was seven, but her mother disallowed her to return as it was very dusty and she claimed that it might make her fall sick.

The portraits all consisted of Jesse's ancestors, some dating way back from two hundred years ago. Her father had stashed them all up here, claiming that the stares from the people in the portraits made him uncomfortable. Nobody could argue with him about that matter; even his wife had agreed with him.

Jesse rummaged through the portraits, hoping to miraculously find one of her mother. Perhaps some kind samaritan had stashed away at least one portrait of her, or a photo. Anything was fine. But after she couldn't find what she was looking for, she gave up.

Moving on, she gazed at the antique furniture that had layers of dust coating it. Jesse traced faces and words on the dust just for the fun of it.

At the very end of the attic, she stumbled upon a dresser. Looking closer, it was made out of polished mahogany wood with gold furnishings adorning the frame of the mirror. The mirror had dust and black spots covering it, obstructing Jesse's reflection.

However, it did not prevent her from noticing something blurry behind her. But when she turned around, she couldn't see who the culprit was. Shaking it off as her imagination, Jesse bent down to open the drawers. They were all empty.

Just as Jesse was about to close the last drawer door, she noticed something carved onto one of the dresser legs. Upon closer inspection, it read _Ellie._

The name Ellie ringed a bell in her head. Jesse did remember her father calling her mother by that name when they weren't in the presence of the public eye.

 _(So this must be mommy's dresser.)_

Jesse knew that this was just her mother's nickname, as her godfather and uncles has called her by a more sophisticated name, but she didn't remember what.

Jesse then saw something red poking out from underneath the dresser. Reaching out to grab it, she realised that it was a notebook with _Ellie_ written on its spine. She opened the hardcover to read the first page. There was a single word written at the centre.

 _Diary._

Immediately Jesse squealed in joy. Her mother's _diary._ Her actual, freaking diary! Sure, her mother said that reading someone else's diary without permission was bad, but for Jesse's case, surely she could be let off the hook.

Excitement coursed through her veins as she skipped out of the attic, retreating back to her chambers to savour the details in the diary.

What Jesse didn't notice was a small spectral figure hiding behind a large portrait, solely focusing on the girl. It then floated towards the direction that she headed before vanishing into thin air.

 **…**

 _September 6, 486_

 _Damn, he's at it again._

 _I told him many times to leave me alone, but he's stubborn as heck. Sure, he's nice and all, but honestly, if darling finds out, I don't know how he'll take it. Knowing him, he'll blow up his fortress faster than you can say 'redstone is awesome'._

 _To be perfectly frank, I don't know how to feel about him. He can be a little weird as times (according to Ivor), but he does have a gentlemanly side. If only darling could learn from him…_

 _January 15, 487_

 _Okay, we have all the ingredients we need to make that machine. All that's left is some more redstone lamps and whatnot._

 _For some reason darling is reluctant to let me go. He keeps on finding excuses to make me stay. Well, shut up. I need to get that machine done or I'll go crazy._

 _January 16, 487_

 _Damn it damn it damn it damn it damn it_

 _Stop looking at me like that, goofball. What the heck is wrong with him?_

 _I know he's concerned and all, but he's starting to get annoying._

 _Notch damn it. Damn it all._

 _March 16, 487_

 _Stomach aches, morning sickness, loss of appetite, mood swings, sudden cravings and random puking._

 _I take it as a good thing, a_ really _good thing. I have been dreaming of this since I was engaged to that goofball. He also looks pretty excited when he sees the symptoms I'm displaying._

 _I hope._

 _October 17, 487_

 _Oh Notch, why does this happen to me?_

 _Why does she have to be so stupidly adorable?_

 _The moment she was handed over to me in a warm fluffy blanket, I had the strong desire to protect her. Now I know what maternal instinct feels like._

 _I am writing this two days after she was born, so her birthday is technically October 15._

 _But on the downside, I'm sick. I have acquired some unknown illness after giving birth to her. Now what?_

 _I would've hated her, just like how that griefer hates her. But how could I? I have wished for her._ I _wanted a child. So why should I…?_

 _No matter. He loves her, I love her, and that's all that matters. Isn't it?_

 _Someday, that griefer will come to accept her, and maybe even love her._

 _My dear Jesse…_

 _It's okay. It's perfectly alright. Yeah._

 **…**

"You have such pretty hair, you know?" The maid remarked as she gently brushed Jesse's black waist length hair with a brush. Jesse sat perfectly still, allowing the maid to comb her hair from top to bottom.

"Thanks… Maria. Did I pronounce your name correctly?"

"Yes, definitely."

Maria had just arrived yesterday night. She was the woman that Jesse bumped into the other night. She had a small frame and the most beautiful blue eyes.

"Your dress looks absolutely lovely. It'll match with your ribbon." Maria said as she adorned her hair with a red ribbon. She went on and on about Jesse's appearance, brushing nonexistent dust from her dress and hair.

It was almost as if she were playing with a doll.

"I'm fine now Maria. I really need to have some breakfast before Mr Calvin arrives." Jesse said as she abruptly stood up, not wanting to deal with the maid any longer.

Maria looked disappointed, but she managed to hide it by plastering a smile on her dainty face. "Sure. I'll see you."

As Jesse took the path that lead to the dining hall, she couldn't help feel that something was behind her. She kept turning around to check, but nobody was there.

Jesse's imagination started to go wild. The stories of phantoms and demons that she overhead from the servants filled her head. What if the spirit of the butler that hung himself was following her? What if the legendary demon of the nether was behind her? What if—

 _Snap._

It all happened too quickly. Immediately after Jesse heard that sound she was roughly shoved out of the path of a falling chandelier. Millions of glass shards were scattered all over the floor.

Hasty footsteps thundered, and in a flash Jesse was being hoisted upright.

"Your Highness! Are you alright!?" Axel cried, panic written all over his face.

Jesse could only tremble in fright.

Axel carried Jesse back to her chambers. Maria was in shock when she saw them, immediately barraging a thousand questions at her.

"Be quiet, will you? She's in shock and needs to rest." Axel snapped, glaring at Maria.

"Ah, yes. But honestly, look at her! Her hair is in a mess, and her dress is dirty! Look, even her ribbon is slipping!"

"Look, shut up okay? If you're going to get all fussy about her appearance instead of actually being of help, I would suggest that you scram."

Maria huffed in annoyance as she stormed off.

"Who does she think she is? She's treating you like her plaything!" Axel said once Maria was out of earshot.

 _(She saw me as a doll. She treated me like a doll. But I'm not a doll.)_

"I dunno, maybe she couldn't afford dolls when she was younger?" Jesse said.

Axel snorted. "Well, I think she's just an insensitive jerk."

 _(I'm not a doll…)_

"As much as I would love to keep you company, I need to get back to work. When you get better, let's go play with the fireworks this Sunday with Reuben, alright?"

The fireworks! She almost forgot about it!

"Alright. See you." Jesse forced a smile as she waved her friend goodbye.

Many maids came and tended to Jesse's needs. They placed a wet cloth over her forehead and served her breakfast in her room. One of the maids asked if she was okay, in which she replied that she was fine. Even her lessons with stupid Mr Calvin were cancelled!

Jesse's father never showed up to check on her. Not that she expected him to do that; he never bothered to visit her when she was ill. The time when she caught a fever when she was nine, only her mother remained by her bedside. She rinsed the fever cloth in water when it got warm and fed her medicine. She even read her bedtime stories to help her sleep.

 _(If only mommy were still around…)_

When Jesse was bored of lying in bed, she went to her cupboard and retrieved a doll. It was a beautiful brunette doll with a light purple dress. It had blank eyes and an eerie smile. Her godfather had made it for her when she was seven, and she was fascinated by the fact that the doll looked so real.

" _I had considered making an exact replica of you, but on second thought I found it a little odd and went with this design instead." Her godfather said as he handed the doll to Jesse._

" _Thank you godfather! She looks so pretty… she's almost like a real girl!"_

Jesse had enjoyed playing with that doll and considered her as a real friend, but when she grew older she couldn't help but feel a little creeped out at its all-too-real smile and hollow eyes that seemed to bore into her soul.

 _(I'm not a doll, am I?)_ Jesse thought as she staredat her childhood toy intently. It just stared back with its creepy eyes.

Jesse tugged at the doll's hair, the fine brown yarn being tangled due to lack of maintenance. She forced her fingers through the knots in the yarn.

" **Stop that. It hurts."**

 _(Shut up. You're a doll. You can't feel pain.)_

" **And aren't you one as well?"**

 _(Maria treated me like a doll, but in reality I'm no doll. Right?)_

" **You are."**

 _(Wrong)_

Jesse tugged at the knots of the yarn harder.

 _(My eyes aren't dead as yours. My eyes can see all sorts of things, all sorts of places.)_

The doll's neck twisted in a grotesque angle, its smile growing wider.

" **Heeheehee… things like what? The hateful face of your daddy?"**

Jesse felt her blood boil. With all of her strength, she flung the doll out of the window and buried her face in a pillow. She wanted to make the doll's cruel giggles go away. She managed to fall asleep after a while, shivering despite of the relatively warm air.

 _(I'm not a doll. I'm not a doll. I'm not a doll.)_

 _(Right?)_

 **Will start on cover art soon. Hopefully it'll arrive by the time I publish chapter III or IV.**


	4. III--Friend From The Past

Revenant Girl

Chapter III—Friend From The Past

Ever since the chandelier accident, Jesse was afraid of stepping out of her chambers. It seemed that there was someone that wanted her dead, but who? She had never offended anyone (except Mr. Calvin) and never did bad things to anyone (again, except for Mr. Calvin. There was one time where she drew an ugly doodle of him on her textbook, and he took offense on that doodle.) Most certainly, nobody should hate her to such a malicious degree.

Suddenly, Jesse recalled the doll's words. _(The hateful face of your daddy.)_

...No.

Jesse didn't want to believe it. But there was a possibility. Her father had never liked her from the moment she was born, and he somehow harbours a strong disdain towards her. He blames Jesse for his wife's sickness and eventual demise. And that was the sole reason he had for hating her. _Despising_ her, _loathing_ her, anything you could imagine.

Her father would blame Jesse for anything. Any misfortune or accident would be blamed on her. There was once where he condemned her for a tiny cut he obtained on his hand, which was absolutely ridiculous.

Jesse could see the scorn in her father's eyes whenever he looked her way. She didn't really receive those looks when she was younger, but after her mother died, she noticed that the hateful glares came more frequently.

Come to think of it, Jesse did have many close calls with death after her mother's passing. Harming potions, poisoned cakes, falling chandeliers…

As much as Jesse wanted to deny it, she couldn't. All the pieces were clicking into place, and she could now see the full picture.

 _(Daddy wants me dead.)_

 **…**

Harshly sucking in a breath, Jesse inched forward while lifting her right leg. Just before her feet touched the ground, she retreated.

Gripping the handles of the door, Jesse started breaking out in cold sweat. She closed her eyes and took a shaky breath to calm herself down before trying again. This time, she had managed to get both feet out of the room, but after a few seconds she let out a yelp and scurried back behind the doors.

It was not because Jesse was being a huge wuss, it was because she was afraid of the danger that would befall her once she was out of her chambers. What if a splash potion of poison fell on her head? What if an anvil crushed her while she strolled down the hallways? What if a poisonous snake was lurking in the dark corners, pouncing on her when she least suspected it?

There were too many assassination attempts on her, and Jesse couldn't afford to drop her guard down.

But Jesse promised Reuben that she would visit him frequently. It had been three days since she dropped by the garden. What would Reuben think if she broke her promise?

 _(Okay. Three, two, one…)_

" **GYYYYYYYYAAAAAAA!"**

Flailing her arms like a madwoman, Jesse shrieked at the top of her lungs as she scurried through the winding hallways. She didn't stop until she reached the gardens, where she landed face-first on the soft grass.

Jesse stayed in that position for a while, trying to regulate her breathing. Something then poked at her arm. She looked up to see the excited face of Reuben.

"Reuben! I… _huff_ … made it… _huff_ …"

"Oink!" Reuben jumped up and down in delight.

Jesse shakily got on her feet and dusted off blades of grass that clung onto her dress and hair. "Alright, I'm ready to play! What do you wanna play first?"

They played and played until they lost track of time, until someone yelled her name.

"Jesseeee!" The owner of the voice sounded familiar. Could it be…?

What was her name again? Lucrezia? Golidia? Orivia?

The female rushed towards Jesse with break-necking speed and gave her a bone-crushing hug.

 _Oh,_ now she remembered. "Olivia!"

Olivia grinned as she released Jesse from the hug and faced her, placing her hands on her small shoulders. "Haha… how long has it been since I last saw you?"

"Five years."

"Oh. No wonder you looked so different. For a moment there I wasn't able to recognise you! I was all like, 'who's that girl and why does she look a tad bit familiar?'"

Jesse giggled. "You wouldn't forget, would you? You're the smartest person I know… in exception to mommy, who is number one of course."

Olivia sighed as she let her arms slip from her shoulders. A wave of nostalgia wafted in the air. "Yeah. Those were good times."

At the age of fourteen, Olivia had become the Queen's apprentice after impressing her during the yearly contest held in Redstonia. She had built a very impressive robot-like contraption that was able to move on its own and was able to pick up blocks and build. The Queen had taken interest in the invention that towered above the others, and she was surprised to discover that a little girl had built it all by herself.

Olivia had won the first prize at the contest with ease, and her place as protégé of the most talented redstone engineer was assured. She then resided in the castle, having an entire tower all to herself. Olivia worked extremely hard and devoted most of her time working on her inventions. However, the Queen had told Olivia not to spend the rest of her life locked up in her room. You need to balance your life. All work and no play is unhealthy, she said.

Olivia had tried to go out and socialise, but she always returned upset and disappointed. Since she was the Queen's protégé, the people did not treat her like a normal person anymore. Like loyal lapdogs they followed wherever she went, praised her endlessly and even worshipped her. Olivia then found out that her 'friends' that all clung onto her like a leech weren't true friends from the beginning. They were attention whores who befriended her just for the sake of climbing up the social ladder.

It was a few months after her failed friendship fiasco that she met Jesse. The Queen had mentioned that she had a daughter, and would sometimes go on and on about how she would groom her to become a great redstone engineer.

It takes a lot of patience to teach that girl, I can't believe that I gave birth to a non-redstone child, but no matter. I think she's a late bloomer or something. It's only natural for the most talented engineers to show their talents later in life. Unless she is more like her father, then damn it all. The Queen said. Olivia agreed with her just because she was her teacher.

Deciding to meet the princess, Olivia found her at the gardens carrying something in her arms. She then realised it was an injured rabbit. They rushed into town to get medical aid for the rabbit, but it died from its injuries before the vet could treat it. The princess was very upset and cried her heart out. Olivia comforted her in the best way she could (she wasn't really much of a comforter). After that, they started meeting up more frequently and they became best friends. During Olivia's free time, they would either play games or she would coach Jesse on redstone engineering.

When the Queen passed away, Olivia had moved out and returned back to Redstonia. Jesse was reluctant to let her best friend go, but Olivia promised that she would write to her. They had been secretly keeping in contact since her father didn't like it when she sent or received letters.

"Let's not dwell on the past, Olivia." Jesse said, not wanting to spoil the mood. "C'mon, why not you tell me _everything_ about your life back at Redstonia. Oh, and if you have a boyfriend don't hesitate to mention him too."

Olivia just punched Jesse on the shoulder playfully.

 **…**

 _The tears were pouring from her eyes at an uncontrollable rate, and her sobs were loud. She tried to silence herself by covering her mouth, but it proved to be useless as the sobs came even harder than ever. She hugged her godfather tightly, burying her face into his clothes. She stained the expensive fabric with her tears and mucous, but her godfather didn't seem to mind. Instead he held her even tighter as tears started to fall from his eyes._

 _Many strangers came to give ten year old Jesse and her father their condolences, including Uncle Gabriel and Uncle Ivor. Her father had a stoic expression, giving a curt nod to the people that were queuing up to give their deepest sympathies._

 _Someone tapped Jesse on the shoulder. "Hey, sorry for interrupting."_

" _It's quite alright, Olivia." Her godfather said, "is there anything you need?"_

 _Olivia nodded solemnly as she sniffed. "Actually, I would like to speak to Jesse alone."_

 _Jesse followed Olivia into a quiet and deserted area. Olivia then knelt down so she was directly facing Jesse. "I won't beat around the bush, so I'm going straight to the point. After the funeral procession is over, I'm heading back to Redstonia."_

 _Jesse gasped. "No! You can't leave me!"_

 _Olivia forced a chuckle as she ruffled the girl's black hair. "It's alright. You still have Axel and your father."_

" _B-but Axel and daddy are never free!" Jesse retorted back._

" _I'm sure that they are trying their best to clear their schedule to spend time with you. They're good people."_

 _After hearing this, Jesse wanted to puke. She wanted to scream and shout and make a hissy fit, but she couldn't. A good girl shouldn't be doing those sort of things. She was_ all _grown up now._

 _Okay, Jesse understood that Axel was genuinely busy. It would be a miracle if he manages to finish work and have an hour to spare. But her father? He wouldn't even look at her or acknowledge her presence. If she tried to get his attention by tugging his leg, he would just shrug her off or yell at her to go away. He only did the opposite when her mother was around, but she was alive no longer._

" _B-b-but daddy won't even_ look _at me!"_

 _Olivia frowned, trying to come up with a solution to her problem. Finally, she said, "why not do something nice to him? Like, get him a gift? Or maybe you two could do something fun together. Have a picnic. Play some games."_

 _Get her father a gift? That was out of the question. Her father never appreciated the gift cards she made for him during his birthdays. She even saw him throw one of her birthday cards in the wastepaper basket with her very own eyes. He kept her mother's gifts, despite calling her gifts 'useless junk' in front of her face. Come to think of it, her parents had always considered each other's gifts 'useless junk'. Sometimes it was 'pieces of crap' or 'dumb shit'._

 _Jesse considered the latter. Doing something fun together, huh? What about blowing up stuff together? Her father liked explosions and his bombs that he called TNT. Her mother had once scolded her for playing with TNT before, but she wasn't around to restrict her anymore. Maybe if she blew something up, would it get his attention? Maybe even acceptance?_

" _I think I know what to do! Thanks Olivia!" Jesse said._

 _Olivia sighed in relief. "Good. Now let's head back."_

 _When they returned, Jesse was surprised to find her godfather missing. Olivia went to ask Jesse's father about his whereabouts, and all he replied was, "that dumb idiot was annoying me with his crying. So I sent him away, end of story."_

 **…**

 _February 14, 488_

 _Yipeeeee, today's Valentine's Day. Hoorayyyy (sarcasm intended). The day of lovey-doveyness and romance and everything. But honestly, it's just another regular day for me. Before we married, we would celebrate Valentine's Day every year, but after marriage he doesn't give a crap anymore._

 _This year, I'm celebrating it with Jesse. I just watch her as she babbles incoherent nonsense and suck her fingers. I played with her throughout the day._

 _My mail is full with roses and store bought Valentine cards. I just ordered them to be thrown into the bin._

 _I hate it when people give me roses. Roses are so common and overused. It's like the people never thought further than 'oh, let's get her a flower'. Not to mention the store bought cards. Ugh._

 _Goofball doesn't particularly like roses either. I'm just glad that he refers to me as a wildflower instead of a rose. He says that roses are prickly and annoying. Hahaha. Quite true._

 _April 21, 488_

 _I had a nightmare last night about revealing the truth to him. After that I was executed publicly in the Death Bowl. There were huge explosions, my head was detached from my body and my vision was upside down. I could smell my own blood and hear him laugh at my demise. That was when I woke up._

 _Honestly speaking, even if someone were to lock me inside a room filled with TNT and threaten to blow it all up with me inside, I wouldn't say it. No way no how._

 _It's only been a year, and I'm already starting to feel guilty. What if I continue to have nightmares like this? How am I going to survive?_

 _It's only been a year, and I'm starting to feel the effects of my illness. My legs feel as if they're chained to a heavy metal ball. Every time I walk, I feel fatigued. I've been taking medicine to temporarily eliminate the effects from my body. If I stop taking them, I'll feel even worse._

 _The medicine takes like shit, so I mix it in my tea. That way I won't have to taste the bitterness of the meds three times a day._

 _June 2nd, 488_

 _I brought Jesse to visit Soren. I'm glad to know that he likes her. In fact, he likes her so much that he wouldn't return Jesse to me._

 _Admittedly, he's a_ much _better father than that griefer, thus earning his title as Jesse's godfather. Except for the fact that he brainwashes her with his enderman obsession. Soren never let Jesse out of his sight of left her alone. He played with her all day, and he looked pretty upset when it was time for her to leave. I assured him that we would visit often._

 _I still remember the time when Ivor visited, and Jesse rummaged through his potion bag and nearly drank a potion of harming, thinking it was juice. And I also remember when she yanked his beard. Ppffffttt. It was too funny. I told it to Gabriel and Soren and they couldn't stop teasing him after that. Maybe when Jesse grows older I'll tell her about it, and we all can have a good laugh._

 **…**

"... and then Geraldine spilled the tea all over the manager's pants! Hahaha! It was _gold._ Everyone was laughing their heads off. She got fired, obviously, but we all gave her a pat on the shoulder for giving what that asshole of a manager deserved."

Olivia plopped her seventh sweet into her mouth before slouching on the couch. Jesse ate a mint sweet and played with the wrapper.

Olivia's life story was… quite entertaining (no boyfriend, unfortunately). She worked for a huge engineering company in Redstonia. According to her, the place was filled with friendly and funny coworkers, hard-to-please bosses and a very unreasonable manager. Jesse wondered how Olivia could handle the tremendous stress in her line of work.

"You just gotta get used to it. I was overwhelmed at first, but after getting the hang of things, it was all a-okay." Olivia said, shrugging her shoulders as she reached for another sweet.

"You really shouldn't be eating that many sweets though." Jesse said as she pointed to the sweet wrapper pile beside her.

"Oh, relax! I was pretty tired after my long journey here, and I need all the sugar I can get to keep me going."

Tired? If she was so tired, where did she get the energy to give her a bone-crushing hug?

"Say, Jesse. How's it going with your father?" Olivia asked casually.

At this, Jesse's entire body froze. The sweet wrapper that she was holding onto slipped from her grasp and landed on the floor. How was she going to answer this tough question?

"Well, uhm… we're doing okay. Sorta."

"Cool! Whaddya do together?"

"Uhhh… we… uhm… explode things together!"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah! We blow up… unwanted structures! And sometimes we even have grief-offs at the Death Bowl!"

"Ohhh. Who would win?"

"Daddy, of course. He's the master at those sorta stuff."

"Do you do any redstone?"

"Nah. Not really my strong point."

"Huh, just like what your mother said. You _do_ take on more of the father's side."

To be perfectly frank, Jesse was equally bad at griefing and redstone. She couldn't use TNT properly to save her life. The last time she tried to blow up a wall, she misfired the TNT. If it wasn't for Axel to happen to be there at the right place and time, she would have been bloody chunks of flesh and blood long ago.

She was still okay at the redstone sector. She could only do basic circuits and nothing more. The most impressive circuit she had done so far in her life was a row of sand being pushed up and down by pistons. Her mother had hoped that Jesse took more of her side than her father's. However, it seemed that she didn't took either parent's side.

"That's… cool." Jesse said. She wanted to talk about how she suspected that her father wanted to kill her. Maybe Olivia could sneak her out of the castle and Jesse could live with her in Redstonia.

Jesse took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"Olivia… if I were to…"

Olivia leaned forward. "Yes?"

"... If I were to… uhh… if I… had nowhere to go, would you…

take me in?" Jesse mentally kicked herself for not being specific.

For a moment, both of them were silent. Then Olivia snickered, and not long it escalated to full-on laughter.

"Oh my Notch, Jesse! Are you really _that_ paranoid? Come on, you're filthy stinking _rich!_ You are the heir to this entire castle and you're worried about not having a roof over your head? I think you're tired." She grabbed a handful of sweets and thrusted it in Jesse's palm. "Eat it _all_ up. You need it."

 **…**

It had only been two days since Olivia arrived, but she had to return home.

"Why?" Jesse whined. "You just got here!"

Olivia shrugged. "Well, some dope messed up something, and I need to go back to settle it. I'm sorry."

Jesse pouted and made her best puppy eyes. "Can't you stay just a _bittt_ longer? Just half an hour?"

The young adult shook her head. "No can do. Duties come first."

Jesse gave up and slumped her shoulders.

Olivia felt sorry for her. She bent down to her level and offered a comforting smile. "C'mon. When I have more free time I'll definitely come and visit, okay?"

Being a good girl, Jesse nodded her head and held back tears as Olivia stepped out of her chambers.

 **…**

Jesse stood outside the portal room as her father was preparing to leave on some business trip or whatever. She hid behind the door, watching silently through a gap while fiddling with her hair.

Just then, her father turned around and said, "I know you're hiding there, Jesse. Now come out."

Jesse's blood turned cold at the sound of his voice. Her head screamed at her to run for her life, but it was as if her legs were possessed as she obediently emerged from her hiding place and approached her father.

He knelt down to her height and looked at her directly in the eye. "Daddy's going to settle some business outside, so promise me that you'll behave yourself while I'm gone, okay?"

Cold beads of sweat trickled down her forehead as she swallowed a lump in her throat. Was he actually being… nice to her for once?

 _(No, daddy hates me. He's gonna kill me. I bet he's gonna send an assassin to my room and slit my throat while I'm sleeping, or—)_

Her father smiled and ruffled her hair before he stood up and stepped into the portal.

Jesse just stood there with her eyes widened in disbelief. She was convinced that her father was up to something sinister, or an imposter took his place. There was no way in a thousand years that her father would treat her with kindness and compassion. Something was very wrong, and Jesse was not eager to find out what.

 **Heyy.**

 **Not** **sure if cover art will be released in time cause life gets in the way. I'll try my best to get the cover art and character designs out so you guys can properly visualise the characters.**

 **I have considered doing an ask blog for !Princess Jesse, but not right now cause again, life gets in the way. Though I would probably start on it after early November when exams are over.**


	5. IV--A Very Special Bird

Revenant Girl

Chapter IV—A Very Special Bird

Jesse ran back to her chambers and locked the doors securely. Until she was satisfied, she sank to the floor and hugged her chest.

Even with her father gone, she was unable to find peace and security in her own home. His sickeningly kind smile and gentle actions only made her even more paranoid. She could imagine that behind his benevolent facade was a sharp, glistening knive ready to plunge into her heart when her guard was down. The very thought of any dangerous weapon slicing into her flesh made her shiver. Even if it weren't weapons, it could be anvils or iron blocks squashing her body. If not, it could be poison coursing through her blood, slowly shutting down her body depending on the kind of poison it was.

Jesse wondered which manner of death would be less painful.

"Hey."

Upon hearing the unknown voice, Jesse jumped in surprise. She stood up and looked around her, but she couldn't see anyone except for a bird resting on the windowsill.

"Hey, I'm talking to you." The voice belonged to a woman. It was deep and melodic. Strangely enough, it sounded like…

"Hey! Are you deaf? I'm right _here!"_ The voice shouted impatiently. To her surprise, it was the _bird_ that was speaking.

Was she hallucinating? Had the constant fear of assassination made a screw in her head go loose? After all, there was no way an animal could talk, right?

"Of course animals can't talk." The bird said, as if reading Jesse's mind.

Jesse started to freak out. She was hearing animals talk and they could read her mind!

"You're not crazy, I can assure you. I'm not exactly animal, y'know."

Jesse frowned as she approached the bird. It was a relatively cute bird with grey plumage. She recognised this species of bird. It was a shrike.

"Hmm? Yes, this body is indeed a shrike. I know they're cute." The shrike said, preening her feathers.

"What in the wide wide world are you…?" Jesse asked, her face heating up at the fact that she was talking to a bird that could magically speak.

"Hmm, me? Oh, I'm just another adorable bird. Don't ask." Sarcasm was dripping from her voice.

"Oh… okay."

"Say, Jesse, you had a question, am I right? And I believe that I have the answer."

Jesse stared at the bird. "How do you know my name?"

The shrike tilted her head up. "Uhm, hello? You're royalty—everyone in the world knows your name." It then flew to Jesse's right shoulder. "To answer your question, I feel that the most painless was of death is through the anvil. I mean, you can feel the painful sting of a knive sinking into your flesh, and the poison makes you feel extremely nauseous, sick and not to mention painful for some time before you actually die."

Okay, this was getting pretty ridiculous, not to mention freaky. Jesse was either having a strange dream or she was truly hallucinating.

Without speaking, Jesse grabbed the bird by her neck. She looked up at her, confused by her action. _(How adorable),_ Jesse thought before using all of her strength to hurl the bird out of the window.

When the bird was out of sight, Jesse went to take a nap. Maybe she was just extremely stressed, and by the time she returned to her normal state of mind, she wouldn't be hearing animals talk.

 **…**

The next day, Jesse went to visit Reuben. He seemed quite fidgety and worried. When he was asked what was wrong, the pig led her to a very familiar shrike perched on a branch of a young tree.

"Hey."

Jesse's right eye twitched slightly.

"Thought you could get rid of me? Not so simple."

Jesse let out a harsh breath as she clutched her head. She was _definitely_ going insane, no doubt.

"I told you. You're not crazy. I'm not entirely animal, because I'm a very _special_ animal!" The shrike said.

Shaking her head, Jesse covered her face with her palms, moaning a weak 'no'.

The shrike left the branch and perched on her shoulder. "So, how's your day? Perfectly _not_ fine, I suppose?"

Deciding to just play along, Jesse replied, "No. I'm going to die. Worse, I don't know when or who is going to kill me. It's killing me from the inside already."

The bird giggled. "Uh huh. I heard you yesterday. You poor soul. Where is your knight in shining armour when you need him, huh?"

"I don't _know._ Are you here to mock me during my last days? I bet you're gonna laugh during my funeral." Jesse huffed and sat herself on the grass, crossing her arms while pouting childishly.

"Hey, don't take it personally. I was just joking. Sorry if my sense of humour is a bit… warped. It's just me." The shrike said in a slightly more serious tone.

"That was still mean though."

"Look, sorry. I'm just a lonely little birdie with no friends, and I thought you would make a nice friend."

Reuben was quivering slightly, so Jesse cuddled him in her arms while stroking his head.

The shrike looked at the scene before it. "That's cute. I wish I were that pig."

Jesse snorted. "You wish."

 **…**

The evening sun cast its brilliant glow across the land as it slowly sunk its way towards the comforts of the mountains beyond. The sky was coloured in beautiful hues of orange, yellow and indigo.

It was a breathtaking sunset.

Somehow, Jesse thought it was a sign that the night was going to be splendid.

It was Sunday, and Axel promised to bring her and Reuben out to play with fireworks. Considering that she was going to die sooner or later, why not enjoy the last few moments of life?

Axel had brought her peasantry outfit, and when he was finished with his work, they would sneak out to town.

As Jesse was all dressed and ready to head out, an annoyingly familiar voice called out to her.

"Hey."

Jesse ignored her as she brushed her skirt.

"Don't go."

"And why should I?" Jesse retorted, not bothering to turn around to face the shrike.

"It's dangerous…"

"As if. I'm not like other prissy princesses. I can take care of myself just fine."

Upon hearing this, the shrike laughed. "Oh really? You were born with a silver spoon, how can you expect to take care of yourself when you were given everything on a silver platter? Oh, by the way, you're going to die if you go with that servant friend of yours. What's his name again...?"

"Axel."

"Yeah, that guy. Just stay away from him."

Jesse gritted her teeth in anger as she turned to face the shrike with a fierce stare that could cause flowers to wilt. How dare she accuse Axel like that?

"Shut up, okay? Axel my best friend, and nothing can convince me otherwise. I'm going out and that's that! Now leave me alone!" With that, Jesse headed to the large fireplace and crawled into a secret passageway. The passageways connected the entire castle and were built as a means of escape in case the castle was under attack. Since there had been no war for a very long time, the passageways were neglected and left to collect dust.

Jesse stuck to the right wall like what Axel instructed her, and after numerous encounters with all sorts of creepy crawlies, she exited through a hidden trapdoor. At the garden, Reuben waited patiently for her. She headed towards the edge of the garden and squeezed her way through a gap in the stonework of the castle walls. Axel waited for her on the other side.

"Did you bring 'em, Jesse?"

"Uh huh!" She showed him the fireworks that were in the basket.

"Cool. Take my hand and follow me. I don't want you getting lost."

Jesse reached out for Axel's outstretched hand and gripped it tightly as if her life depended on it. Like stealthy ninjas, they sneaked off into the bustling town undetected.

The town was full of people from all walks of life engaged in all sorts of activities. Some were chatting while strolling, some were buying groceries in the market, some were in a rush to get home from work and some children were running around playing tag. Overall, it was a lively and colourful place. It was much better than the bland stone walls of the castle.

Reuben oinked excitedly, taking in the new sights and smells. It had been a while since he was let outside. He had been captured by one of the royal kitchen helpers when the all their supply of pork was gone. They needed to serve dinner soon, and there was no time to head all the way to the market to buy a new supply. Thankfully there was a stray piglet wandering around the castle borders and was caught to be slaughtered. Reuben was fortunate enough to have Jesse spot the kitchen helper carrying him as he wailed and kicked with all his might. She adopted the piglet and the chef had to cook another dish that didn't include pork (much to the displeasure of the King).

Suddenly, Axel stopped on his tracks and whispered to Jesse, "I forgot to mention that I can't call you by your real name. So for tonight, you're name's Jane, 'kay?"

"Jane, Jane, Jane…" Jesse muttered to herself as she tried to get used to her new name.

They headed towards a fair where the crowd was at its densest. Jesse gripped onto Axel's hand tighter as they maneuvered their way through the sea of bodies.

"Hey Jane. It's not almost night, so I thought that we could check out the stalls at the fair while we wait. You want some popcorn or candyfloss? After that we can go play some games." Axel asked.

"Yeah! Sure!" Jesse exclaimed excitedly, having never been to a fair before. She had only heard of it from the tongues of the servants who had been there, and they made it sound so fun and exciting. There's full of mouth-watering snacks, exhilarating games and cuddly plush toys, they said. She was slightly jealous of them, but now she was at an actual freaking fair and she couldn't be happier.

They went to buy the promised candyfloss and popcorn (and a carrot for Reuben). The candyfloss tasted like sugary goodness and the popcorn was crunchy. Afterwards they played some games. One was hoop-in-the bottle (where Jesse struggled in), the other was dart boards (which Jesse struggled in again) and another was fishing (which Jesse struggled in, again. Then again, she struggled at most of the games). In the end, Jesse wasn't able to win any prize at the game booths, but Axel felt sorry for her and gave her his plush creeper that he won at the chicken trap game.

The sky was pitch black by the time they exited the fair. It was the perfect time to use the fireworks.

They found a nice, empty field at the outskirts of the town and started setting up the guns.

"Ready?" Axel asked, firework gun in hand.

"Yes!" Jesse yelled and Reuben oinked in agreement.

They pulled the trigger, and colourful fireworks of various different colours burst out from the nozzle and exploded in the inky sky. Both users started rapid firing, shooting masses of blinding light skyward. By the time the gun had reached its limits, residue smoke from the fireworks polluted the air.

Jesse let out a hearty laugh as she lay down onto the grass while cuddling Reuben. She had a _lot_ of fun, and she didn't want the night to end. She had experienced so many things that were once foreign to her, and she just realised how ignorant she was about the world. She had the sudden desire to learn more; to step out of her shell and explore the wonders the world had to offer.

 _(I don't want to die. Not… yet.)_

Jesse found it funny that just a few hours ago; she had resigned herself to fate and accepted the embrace of Death. She didn't want to step into Heaven's gates just yet. After all, she was only fifteen and had a long way to go. But for now, Jesse just wanted to relax and look at the twinkling stars… after the smoke cleared.

After a couple of minutes, Jesse noticed how silent Axel was. He was usually quite chatty, especially after doing something related to fire and explosions, but he hasn't uttered a single word after they were done playing with the fireworks.

"Hey, Axel…" Jesse muttered, lifting herself into a sitting position. "I just thought, can we stay here a bit longer? I don't wanna go home just yet."

Axel grunted in response.

"Y'know, I don't feel happy at home. It's so… cold. There isn't this sense of security that all homes should have. A home is a sanctuary from the outside world, right? But for my case, the outside world is my sanctuary; it's where I truly feel that I belong.

"Daddies are supposed to be nice and caring, right? Daddies are supposed to love and protect their children. But _my_ daddy is the total opposite. He doesn't give a crap about me; neither does he even care about my security and well-being. I don't mean to scare you or anything, but I think that he wants to kill me.

"I mean, come on. He loathes me; he thinks I'm a curse, a bane in his life. After all, mommy got ill after she gave birth to me and died from it afterwards. If I was never born, then both of them could have lived happily. With me out of the picture, he can be at peace."

Axel shifted uneasily, fiddling with something behind his back.

"The problem is I don't want to die. I'm still have so much to live for. There are so many amazing sights I've yet to see, so many things I've yet to experience. I want to visit the Far Lands. I want to learn combat and fight mobs. I want to have a coronation and become queen. I want to fall in love, get married and raise my own kids. I won't bore you too much with my life goals, but what I'm trying to say is that I wanna live my life to the fullest. Until then, I want to stay alive.

"So there, I've said it. You'll help me, right? You're my best friend, along with Reuben and Olivia. You won't let daddy harm me, right…?"

For a moment, Axel stared at Jesse with an expressionless gaze. After that, he averted his gaze, fidgeting. He slammed his palm into his face, releasing distressed sounds. Jesse just spectated, wondering if she said something that made him uncomfortable in any way.

All of a sudden, Axel stood up while tightly gripping something in his hands. It glistened dangerously under the moonlight, and to her horror it was a knive.

Jesse's blood immediately turned cold. Her entire system shut down, and she couldn't make herself stand up, much less run. She was rooted to the ground, quivering like a leaf in fear. Reuben oinked desperately while tugging at her skirt, trying to get Jesse to escape while she could.

This was it. It was over. Her best friend was going to rid her from the face of the Earth, and there was nobody to save her, not even Reuben. The sharp blade was going to end her life instantly, and Axel would then report to her father about the successful assassination attempt. He would then announce that she died from 'natural causes' or whatever grand lie he would tell, and she would vanish into history's shadow, forgotten to the world. There was no way to escape her fate that was carved out for her on the day of her birth. It was silly of her to even think of changing it.

By now, Reuben was squealing in worry and fright. Jesse just gave him a scratch behind his ears. "You're a good pig. Continue staying that way, alright?"

Reuben let out a wail of sadness as he latched himself onto Jesse's arms as if wanting to die with her.

Axel raised the knive over his head…

… To kneel down and sink the blade into the earth.

Reuben stopped squealing and proceeded to stare at the stocky boy who was kneeling on the ground, sobbing.

"...Axel?"

Axel looked up, his eyes bloodshot and his cheeks stained with tears. It was shocking to see him cry. As far as she knew, Axel had never shed a single tear in the face of difficulties.

"I'm sorry… I didn't have a choice. On the day of your mother's death anniversary, your father…"

"Lemme guess. He was planning on ways to dispose of me, and you're part of it. That explains why I bumped into you when you were leaving daddy's chambers."

Axel sighed as he bowed his head. "Yes, you're spot on."

Tears started brimming at the edges of Jesse's eyes, threatening to spill out. "You're my best friend. I trusted you. So why would—"

"Like I said, I didn't have a choice. He was so insistent about it. If I defied him, you know where I'll end up. So, I did everything he asked of me to do, which included all of the…" Axel paused abruptly, unable to bring himself to continue speaking.

The tears that were held back now flowed freely down Jesse's cheeks. "The poisoned cake, the falling chandelier… it was all your doing?"

"I did it against my will!" Axel shouted, "I never wanted to harm you, Jesse. But if I end up at the Death Bowl, who will be there to protect you? I'm sure as hell that the guards, Maria, Olivia nor Reuben can't. Not trying to insult your friends or anything, but honestly! How can they shield you from your father's wrath?

"Maria treats you like her toy doll, Olivia lives all the way at Redstonia, and Reuben's just a defenceless piglet! The guards are fiercely loyal to your father only; they won't give a damn if you die."

Jesse sniffed as she started sobbing, the truth weighing down on her heart like a sack of rocks. Reuben crawled to her side and tried to comfort her. How cruel of her father to force Axel to commit such atrocities!

They were silent for some time; the only sounds audible were the oinks of Reuben and the sobs of Jesse.

Axel suddenly stood up. "Look, you can't stay here. Your father is returning tomorrow morning and he is expecting you to be dead. You need to run; run to somewhere far, far away where he can't get you."

"B-but how?" Jesse whined as she wiped the tears off her cheeks. "I don't have anywhere to go! Who would take me in?" After all, she couldn't just go knocking on a complete stranger's door and say, 'hey, I'm a princess who is on the run from my completely insane father who wants to kill me. Can I stay with you?'

Axel frowned, trying to think of a solution. "Hmmm, why not... go to Olivia's? Redstonia is helluva far away from here, and that means you'll be safer." He began to dig out some gold nuggets from his pocket and thrust them into Jesse's palm. "This is all the money I have left. I believe I still have a little bit more back at my quarters. Pack some food and a few clothes, not too much to let anyone notice. Also, take a weapon to fight mobs if you ever encounter them. Leave your father to me."

Seeing that Jesse was going to cry again, Axel knelt down and placed his hands on her small shoulders firmly. "Promise me, no matter how hard it gets, stay strong and never lose hope. You still have so much to live for, so don't let my sacrifice go to waste."

Jesse nodded meekly.

"Now come on, I'll sneak you back in. We can't afford to lose a split second."

 **…**

Back at her chambers, Jesse hurriedly packed up the necessary items (including her mother's diary) into a small bag. She slipped a black cloak over herself and prepared to step into the fireplace, when…

"Hey."

"Shut up…" Jesse growled.

"Hmph. I told you that he was dangerous. But then again, he would have gone to find other ways to kill you even if you didn't follow him, so I guess there wasn't any point. Heeheehee…"

Jesse ignored the shrike and retreated into the fireplace's secret passageway. Just her luck, the damned animal trailed from behind.

"Seeing the situation you're in, it's best if I follow you. I bet you won't survive for long out there by yourself."

Jesse huffed as she rolled her eyes. "Even so, how can a cute little bird like you help me? Are you gonna assist me in fighting mobs or something?"

The shrike let out a laugh. "Don't underestimate me. I told you, I'm a very _special_ bird!"

 _(I hope so. I won't survive that long on my own. Even if it's just a figment of my imagination, at least I have another pillar of hope I can lean on.)_

The duo exited through the trapdoor. Reuben rushed towards Jesse and clutched her skirt, as if he were saying, 'Don't go! Don't go!'

With a dejected sigh, Jesse placed her bag down and cradled the piglet in her arms. "Reuben, daddy doesn't love us anymore. We have to go, it's for the best. Perhaps our lives would be better Redstonia. I hope…"

 **THE COVER ART IS OUT AHMAHGAWD YES FINALLLLLLLYYYYY!1!1**

 **...But for some reason FFnet won't let me upload the cover art no matter how many times I try. So until I find a solution, you can view the cover art in my Deviantart Stash...**

 **h**

 **t**

 **t**

 **p**

 **: / /** **sta. sh / 01t0h 3159zdl (w/out spacing)**

 **I had fun drawing the cover art just as I had fun designing the outfits of the characters (coming soon).**

 **When I was sketching Jesse, I thought that her eyes looked wonky and the bird was too big (shrikes are meant to be tiny), but after (a lot) of erasing and resketching I was satisfied. The background was painful to blend lmao.**

 **Oh yeah, I recommend paying attention to the little details; I didn't add random skulls and masks there for fun.**


	6. V--Boom Town

Revenant Girl

Chapter V—Boom Town

 _July 3rd, 489_

 _So apparently Soren's into painting now. He said that he wanted to try out 'other aspects of art'. Not that I have anything against it._

 _He's trying to make Jesse appreciate art too, so he lets her play with clay and draw with crayons. I have to admit that's pretty cute. When she drew black shapes with purple dots, Soren started freaking out, thinking that Jesse finally started to appreciate endermen. Oh please._

 _He actually 'hired' me to be his art critic. The first artwork I had to critic was (get ready for it)... an enderman. I wish I could say that I was surprised. Then again, it was okay-ish for his first try painting on canvas, so I gave it a pass._

 _Oct 15, 490_

 _Today is Jesse's birthday, and the number of gifts were so overwhelming, up to the point where she could be swimming in it. The pretty generic gifts included dolls, dresses and jewellery. I mean, come on, be original. I've seen the same gifts that were given during Jesse's first birthday, during Christmas, during New Year…_

 _Even goofball wasn't original. I bet he was all like, 'oh crap, its Jesse birthday today and I totally forgot. Whatever, I'll just get a random item from my stockpile and wrap it up in pretty wrapping paper'. Or maybe he doesn't give two shits about Jesse to get her a decent gift._

 _His gift was (get ready, I'm serious)... TNT. What. I can't even…_

 _At least I appreciate the gifts from the others. Gabriel gave her a fancy sword (probably for decó), Ivor's enchantment book and Soren's mini amulet replica._

 _What did I get for Jesse? Well, I gave her one of our treasures from our adventures as Order Of The Stone—a ghast tear. Actually, the one I gave her was an extra I got when the rest didn't inform me that they've already obtained the ghast tear a few moments ago. It's the perfect gift._

 _Dec 14, 490_

 _Soren has been constantly inviting me over to check out his paintings and sculptures. He even tried inviting goofball over too, but he rejected him out flat. For some reason, Soren didn't seem bothered by his rejection. In fact, he seemed..._ relieved?

 _Maybe it's just me; maybe I'm thinking too much into it. Or maybe his sculpture's eyes seem to bore into my soul, or the endermen in his paintings seem to have eyes that follow me no matter which angle I look. Yeah, that must be it. It's either his creepy artwork has started to erode at my common sense, or he's plain clingy._

 _He's been_ very _clingy. Actually, he's clingy from the start._

…

The bitter bone-chilling night air embraced Jesse and Reuben's bodies as they brisk walked down the deserted streets of the town. They had managed to create a good distance between themselves and the capitol, but not enough to ensure her safety. It hasn't even been half an hour in her journey, and Jesse was starting to feel scared. The reality of her situation was starting to kick in, and there were numerous possible scenarios that might happen during her long trek to Redstonia that ran through her head. Mobs, bandits, griefers, running out of food, injuries, harsh weather, death…

Jesse shivered at the last scenario. The whole purpose of her escapade was to avoid death, and to die during her journey would be ironically humorous.

Jesse had never seen the streets so bare of life. It reminded her of a horror story setting, and she herself was the foolish protagonist.

Reuben, who was trailing behind, oinked in worry.

"There's nothing to be a-afraid about. There's _nothing_ t-to be afraid, heh." Jesse said, stuttering in her speech. The shrike huffed.

"You claim to be fearless, but deep down in your heart you're terrified. You can't even put up a brave front to your pet pig."

"Thanks for the encouragement, it certainly helped a lot."

"Oh, I'm not being a jerk, I'm just speaking the truth."

For a while, Jesse doubted her confidence that she placed on the bird. It seemed that all she did was to criticise and mock her.

"The truth hurts, does it not?" The shrike said, causing Jesse's eyes to widen.

 _(Crap. I forgot that she could read minds.)_

Jesse remained silent, not wanting to give the bird any more reason to condemn her.

They continued their walk in heavy silence. They passed through dark houses, empty stores and creepy alleyways. It seemed that the scenery would remain the same, until they reached a certain part of town where the buildings were in bad shape. There were holes on the walls and on the sandy ground. Banners of all different kinds were etched on the lampposts. Somewhere in the distance, there was an unruly shout and the blast of TNT.

Axel had told Jesse about this particular town. He was born and raised here (not that Axel was bad), and he said that the people who called themselves griefers were all aggressive with their TNT. Technically, sociopathic was the best term to describe the erratic behaviour of the townspeople. It was the poorest part of the kingdom, and the population consisted of disgruntled people who were basically failures in life. Ex-convicts, social rejects, drop outs all gather here to vent their pent-up anger over their miserable lives. This town had little to no restrictions, and you could basically commit murder and easily get away with it. It was not surprising to know that crime rates were high around here.

After all...

"Your loot is mine, sucker!"

This place was…

"Ha! You have to catch me first, anvil foot!"

The duo disappeared round the bend, and after a second an explosion occurred. If Jesse payed closer attention, she could have heard a splatting sound.

Reuben squealed in surprise and cowered behind Jesse's legs.

"It's okay Reuben. Just… stay close, alright?"

Even though it was in the middle of the night, there were still a handful of griefers making a ruckus. One griefer on a roof lit up a piece of TNT and flung it towards a nearby house for no apparent reason. It created a large hole and residue fire burned in its wake. Then, another piece of TNT was thrown upwards from someone inside the house. The throw was spot-on, and the griefer was launched off the roof and into the air before coming into impact with the ground with a sickening _splat._ The other griefers who witnessed the scene didn't even flinch; they just stared for a fleeting moment before resuming their activities.

Seeing how nonchalant the people were about violence and death shook Jesse to the core. She certainly didn't want to be caught up in a similar situation.

All she needed to do was to cross Boom Town and she would be free. It was much shorter than the main road that took a big detour to the north, since the griefers posed a dangerous threat to merchants and travellers travelling to and fro the kingdom. For an unarmed person to purposely try to cross through Boom Town, one would be either in a great rush or plain ignorant.

However, Jesse took the risk anyway. The main road would eat up way too much time. She needed to get away as far as possible. If Axel's plan failed, her father would definitely send search teams to hunt her down.

Sucking up a harsh breath, Jesse picked up her guts and headed straight into the chaotic town. She quickened her steps and looked down at the ground, shielding her face with her unclipped fringe. She clutched the cloak tightly, praying that it would help her blend into the shadows and not draw unwanted attention to herself.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the griefers had eyes of a hawk. A griefer leaped down from a roof and stood in front of her. She couldn't see his expression behind his coloured mask, but she guessed that it couldn't be anything good.

"Hey, haven't seen you around before. You passing by or something?" The griefer spoke in a harsh, deep voice that made Jesse shiver.

"N-none of your business." Jesse replied, trying to make herself sound tough, but the griefer didn't buy it.

"Uh-huh." He then crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side, his lips curving into a sarcastic small smile. "Whatcha got there? A bird and a pig? Are they like, your pets or something?"

"I told you, this ain't your business!" Jesse snapped, shoving the griefer out of the way, but he grabbed her by her arm and jerked her to his side.

"Dawh, come on. I just want to know you better. After all, what's a cute little girl doing around Boom Town with a bird and a pig in tow? C'mon, I'll take you somewhere safe…"

Fear coursed through Jesse's veins. With a shriek, she lifted her knee and hit him right in the groin. He shouted in pain and released his grip. Jesse took the opportunity and dashed towards an alley, with an enraged griefer hot on her tail. By then, the other griefers decided to join in the chase just because they could, and soon at least eight bloodthirsty griefers chased poor Jesse.

Panting wildly, Jesse continued running blindly through alley after alley in a futile attempt to shake off her pursuers. Cradling Reuben in her arms while carrying a bag was slowing her down significantly. She didn't even know if the shrike followed. Actually, she didn't even care if the bird died. What help had she been anyway?

After what seemed like an eternity, Jesse was still unable to outrun the griefers that were occasionally hurling explosives at her. She managed to dodge most of them due to her nimble speed, but her energy and willpower was draining rapidly. She knew she couldn't continue like this for long.

"Reuben!" Jesse yelled just as another piece of TNT grazed her right shoulder. "I need you to jump! There!"

Reuben looked up at Jesse with a confused expression.

"That's seriously cute!" A griefer mocked.

"I'm counting on you Reuben! Now GO!"

Without any hesitation, Jesse flung Reuben like an arrow from a bow and he landed on top of a ledge of a building. He quickly checked his surroundings and laid his eyes on a stray flint and steel which he passed to Jesse using all the piggy strength he had.

Jesse caught the flint and steel and felt a surge of hope lighting up inside her heart. With this, she could use it on...

"Bah! Whatcha going to do with that? Burn us into a crisp?" Another griefer sneered.

"Something worse!" Jesse yelled back as she exited the alleyway, rushed inside a dilapidated house and dashed up a flight of stairs. When she reached the open rooftop, she did not hesitate to light up a piece of TNT from a small stack that was just chilling there (apparently someone was stupid enough to leave their explosives unattended. Whoever it was, Jesse was grateful for that).

"The taste of your own medicine!" Jesse triumphantly shouted as she threw it at the stunned group of griefers. They had little time to react which resulted in them being thrown off their feet, and some unfortunately fell off the roof. When some of them got up, she lit up another piece of TNT and threw it at them. Soon all of the griefers scattered, leaving a relieved and exhausted Jesse to inwardly celebrate her victory against her enemies.

Or so she thought.

A distressed oink echoed in the distance, and to Jesse's horror, she could spot two griefers cornering a very petrified Reuben.

Jesse rushed towards the scene of the crime as fast as her legs could carry her. One griefer grabbed Reuben by the neck and glared at him with distaste.

"Well well well, if it isn't the little girl's pig. If it wasn't for you, I would have easily blown her up into chunks of flesh and blood. There goes our chance to annihilate another foolish passer-by."

The other griefer snickered. "But hey, since we couldn't play with the girl, why not play with the piginstead? Just for… compensation."

"About that, I'm getting hungry, and I'm craving for some porkchop."

 _(No! Anybody but Reuben!)_

"Stop that!" Jesse screamed as she stepped out of the shadows. "It's me you want, leave my pig alone."

The two griefers stared at Jesse. The one that was handling Reuben hurled him towards a wall like a rag doll, causing him to let out a squeal of pain.

"You know, I always wondered how stupid the 'tourists' are here. They know that this place is a literal death town yet they still step foot in here. And you, my friend, are one of them."

Jesse growled in an attempt to look brave. "Just cut to the chase! What do you want from me? You want my money? Here!" She tossed a few gold nuggets at their direction. To her surprise, they didn't even move a muscle.

"It's not money we want." One of them spoke.

His partner fished out a piece of damned TNT.

"We just want to see your blood spill."

Jesse's eyes widened, immediately regretting her words. She started to regret even stepping foot into this crazed town. What was she even thinking? She should have just took the main road, and all this mess would have never happened.

By now, Jesse was quivering violently as she took a few baby steps away, but it was not enough to escape her demise.

The executioner took a flint and steel and prepared to light up the explosive that would tear apart her entire body.

When…

… _!_

"Cut it out, you two."

Immediately, the executioner halted his actions and turned to face the person responsible for interrupting the execution.

"The heck? What's your problem?"

"I told you to _cut it out._ Do I need to repeat that?"

"Uugghh, fine. Just because we need those blaze rods."

The voice belonged to a young woman. She had a blue bandana wrapped around her head, and her fiery red hair cascaded down her shoulders. Her hazel eyes seemed to act like lasers piercing into the griefers' souls, and she seemingly had an aura around her that warned others that she meant business.

"In exchange for the girl, here's your blaze rods." The woman retrieved a handful of blaze rods from her haversack. "Now scram, thank you very much."

The duo grabbed their possessions and obediently walked away, with one of them muttering 'lucky bit¢h'.

The redhead turned to look at Jesse, who was looking at her saviour with pure admiration and gratitude. She tried to say something, like a small 'thank you' or whatnot, but she just pointed at Reuben who was still slumped on the ground in pain.

"C'mon, get your pig and let's get outta here."

…

With extreme gentleness, Jesse wrapped up Reuben's wound with some bandages the woman provided. Despite that, the piglet was still whimpering.

"It's okay, everything's alright now. The baddies are gone." Jesse said, and this provided a little comfort for Reuben as he closed his eyelids and drifted off into deep sleep.

Jesse cradled Reuben in her arms protectively. She had lost her bag in the middle of the chaotic events in Boom Town, but decided not to go back and retrieve it because of obvious reasons.

The woman, who was watching Jesse silently suddenly spoke. "Okay, first things first. What the heck were you doing in a place like that?"

"Ahahaha… uhm… well, I was taking a shortcut. I thought that I would sneak through the town, but apparently not."

"Just like every single person that steps foot there. But, where are you going exactly? And why aren't your parents with you?"

"... Uhm… ehhh… I erm… I'm traveling alone. My parents are… not here anymore, so I live with my… grandmother. She sort of… kicked the bucket recently, so a relative from Redstonia decided to take me in. That's where I'm heading to now. Yeah."

The woman frowned, as if not believing Jesse's fabulous lie that she crafted at the last minute.

"Okay… I'm sorry about what happened to your grandmother. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Fifteen."

"You don't look like one."

 _(Ouch.)_

"I'm just saying." The woman said as she polished her iron pickaxe with a worn-out cloth.

"Ooh."

Jesse then proceeded to watch in silence as the woman continued to polish her tools. After a while she decided to ask a question that she had stuck in her head for some time. "Uhm, ma'am, what were _you_ doing back there?"

"Oh, I was delivering the stuff the griefers need. They're sorta like my customers. Initially I was supposed to get two emeralds for those blaze rods, but after seeing you about to get torn apart by my clients, I had to do something."

"I see. So you help griefers regularly?"

The woman had finished polishing her tools and stuffed them back into her haversack. "For the right price, I'll help anyone."

Just then, the shrike that had conveniently vanished during Jesse's dire moments came flying towards the trio. She perched on Jesse's right shoulder. "Hey."

Jesse sneered at the bird. "Oh, look who showed up."

The woman looked at the shrike. "Is that bird your pet or something?"

Tilting her head adorably, the shrike let out a series of pleasant sounding tweets. The redhead looked at her amusingly while Jesse just shook her head firmly in protest.

"Nope nopety nope nope nope. This bird sure as hell ain't my friend. The only real animal friend I have is Reuben." Jesse pointed at the sleeping piglet on her lap.

"Tch. Just wait till you walk out into the night. You'll be surprised as to how useful it is to have me around." The shrike said smugly.

"Hardy har har. Yeah, right."

"Prissy little princess."

"Stupid feather ball."

"Spoiled brat."

"Backstabbing bird."

"Heh, gotta work on your name calling, missy."

"Shut up, you annoying little animal."

Jesse glared at her rival challengingly, her brows furrowed in annoyance. She opened her mouth to shout out another comeback, when she noticed how the woman was looking at her with a weird expression. It took Jesse a while to realise that she had been talking to an animal as if it were human, right in front of a stranger. She looked away, blushing furiously.

An awkward silence hung over them, until the woman stood up. "It's best to be going now. Since you can't take care of yourself, and your stuff are all gone, it's best if I accompany you. I haven't been to Redstonia in quite a while; might as well go pay the city a visit and find more customers."

Jesse nodded and stood up. She dusted her skirt and carried Reuben. The woman turned and started walking with the little girl trailing behind her closely.

"Oh, by the way, may I know your name? I don't wanna keep on addressing you as ma'am all the time."

"Call me Petra. Spare the formalities."

 **I usually post media on the Wattpad version of this story. If you want to check out the concept art/illust, look up the Wattpad version. It's totally okay if you don't have an account for WP; you can always review here.**


	7. VI--Detour

Revenant Girl

Chapter VI—Detour

Throughout their journey, they were absolutely silent. The crunching of grass beneath their feet was loud, and the incessant high-pitched noises of crickets made their ears bleed. Reuben stirred from his sleep once in a while before slipping back into unconsciousness. Jesse's arms felt sore from carrying Reuben for a prolonged period of time, and Petra _tsked_ while shaking her head, asking her if she had done any work in her life before carrying the piglet in her stead.

The full moon was etched high in the inky black sky, illuminating the Overworld in its gentle light. Millions of stars twinkled alongside the moon, but they were nothing compared to the radiant white orb. Nothing stood in the way of the moon, not even a ghostly wisp of cloud overlapped it.

Just by looking at the moon gave Jesse a strange sense of impending calamity. She shivered slightly as an icy blast of wind assaulted her. Even the thin cloak didn't provide her much warmth.

Petra noticed her shivering slightly and gave a sigh. "For Notch's sake, can't you even take a little bit of cold?"

Another chilling gust of wind blew, causing Jesse to shiver even more.

The redhead stopped in her tracks, took out a ragged scarf from her haversack and tossed it to Jesse. "I know it's not much, but that's all I have. You'll just have to bear with it till we reach our destination."

Jesse accepted the scarf and wrapped it around her small shoulders. It did not entirely cancel out the cold, but it gave her a little extra warmth and she was grateful for that.

As they continued walking, Jesse noticed that they had not encountered a single mob at all. Throughout their journey, she had not heard the groans of a zombie, the clattering of skeleton bones, the hiss of spiders or creepers entirely. It seemed like the mobs were… tame?

The meek glow from their torch was not enough to completely repel mobs, yet mobs did not approach them. Just what was it that was acting as a mob repellent?

"Tch, told you I was useful." The shrike boasted.

So the shrike was the mob repellant? How was it possible? How in the world could a little common bird drive away mobs? Did it have some sort of supernatural power or something?

"Curious, eh? I told you, I am a very special bird!"

"How, exactly?" Jesse enquired.

The shrike laughed. "Ohhohoho~ I ain't revealing my secret anytime soon~"

Jesse just shrugged and stared ahead.

After walking non-stop for an hour, Jesse finally agreed to make shelter. Earlier on she had pestered Petra to leave straight away. Petra naturally disagreed, warning her that the mobs would pose as a problem. Yet Jesse was annoyingly persistent, so the redhead went along with her insane idea. Surprisingly, there weren't any mobs in sight ever since they stepped foot outside, which was bizarre. Not that she was complaining; it saved her so much trouble.

They made a tiny dirt hut and lit a small campfire out of twigs. Petra used her haversack as a pillow while Jesse folded her scarf and cloak as a pillow as well.

Petra fished out two apples and tossed one to Jesse. She caught it eagerly and sank her teeth into the flesh of the fruit. Since she hadn't eaten for quite a long time, the apple was heavenly. The sweet juice travelled down her throat and quenched her thirst.

"Hungry, eh? How long has it been since you ate your last meal?" Petra asked before munching on her apple.

"Dunno. Quite a looooong time. I never knew apples were _this_ tasty." Jesse replied as she took another large bite.

"That reminds me, you haven't told me your name yet. I don't feel like calling you 'wimp' or 'little girl' all the time."

"...Jane." _(A wimp? Double ouch)._

"Cool."

After they ate, they prepared to rest. Petra noticed how Jesse seemed to squirm and grimace as she gingerly laid her body on the grass. She curled herself in a position such that it required her to have minimal contact with the ground. Petra just shook her head and closed her eyes.

Above them, the strong splatter of rain smashing against the dirt roof was the last sound that they heard before drifting into the realm of slumber.

 **…**

 _A brief flash of lightning illuminated the stone hallway for a brief moment before the deafening clap of thunder sounded. Jesse squealed as she cowered for the fifth time._

 _It was a stormy night. The thunderstorm was merciless to the trees and shrubbery outside. Leaves and twigs were strewn all over, and the rain pelted noisily on the windows._

 _In a horrendous night like this, any typical six year old would be scared and seek refuge in their parents' room. So that was what Jesse did. She mustered all of her courage and headed out of the confines of her chambers and into the creepy hallways, dragging an oversized pillow with her to her parent's chambers._

 _Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she reached the grand double doors. She shakily reached out and prepared to knock, when she heard her mother shriek, followed by a loud smacking sound of palm against skin._

" _EEEEHHHHH! Stay_ _ **back!"**_

 _A hiss of pain followed. "The hell was that for!?"_

" _What was that for!? That's what you_ get! _That's what you deserve for committing such a sinful and inhumane act!"_

" _Seriously? What's wrong with you!?"_

" _You clearly know what! Don't you dare deny your wrongdoings!"_

" _Did you take the wrong medicine or something?"_

" _NO!"_

" _Then just shut up!"_

" _You just touched my boobs!"_

" _I'm your notchdamned husband for TNT's sake! It's not as if I've never touched them before!"_

" _URGHHH! Men are such bullies! You guys think that because you've got muscles and shit it gives you the privilege to abuse women!"_

" _I swear you didn't take your meds, since you were so preoccupied with your redstone shenanigans that you forgot."_

" _That's IT! It's off with your head the first thing in the morning! After that I'll feast on your head for breakfast accompanied with red wine!"_

 _After hearing it, Jesse gasped in shock. Was her mother really going to cut off her father's head and have it for breakfast? She couldn't imagine seeing her next morning with his head on the plate, the pure white surface of the plate being stained with crimson blood and other miscellaneous body fluids…_

" _Daw, that's so cute~ I don't think you'll have what it takes to catch me and strap me to the scaffold, though. But then again, seeing how cuckoo you have been recently, I don't wanna risk it."_

" _Watch what you say, dumbass! Why not I execute you right this instant!"_

 _Jesse let out a horrified whimper. She could imagine her mother wielding an enormous axe while looking down at her father as she swung the weapon down, aiming straight for his neck…_

" _Heheheheh… we'll see about that~"_

 _After that, there were sounds of struggle along with pillows being thrown and the loud creaking of the bed. Up to this point, Jesse was beyond terrified and she didn't wish to witness the horrors that were currently happening in her parents' chambers. Immediately she made a tactful retreat; her chambers being less horrifying than her parents'._

 _The rain and the howling wind came barraging at full force, the lightning and thunder occurred more frequently than before. The flames from the torches etched on the walls swayed ominously. The stone floor felt so cold under her feet, even with her furry slippers equipped._

 **…**

 _(So cold…_

 _So very cold…_

 _Cold._

 _Cold._

 _Cold.)_

… _?_

"...ke u…"

"Wak… pp."

"Wake…"

"Wake up…"

"WAKE UP NOTCHDAMMIT!"

With a gasp, Jesse's eyes shot open. She was immediately greeted by rainwater to her face.

Jesse jerked upright, and she saw that their shelter was in bad shape. Rain was seeping through the walls and the ceiling. It looked like a section of the roof would collapse. The ground was puddled with rainwater, gaining a brown hue after mixing with dirt. Their belongings and their clothes were soaked, which made Jesse grimace.

Petra was squatting beside her, a worried expression on her usually calm face. "We've gotta get outta here. The thunderstorm's real bad and it's tearing our shelter apart. We'll try to find a cave or something. Now come on!"

Jesse didn't need to be told twice. She grabbed Reuben who was looking rather frightened and ran after the redhead.

True to her word, the thunderstorm was terrible. It was just like the exact same thunderstorm in her dream, only worse, because she was caught in it.

The duo tried their hardest to fight against the strong winds that relentlessly tried to knock them off their feet, and the pouring rain felt like miniature sledgehammers slamming down onto her body. Far off into the distance, a bolt of lightning struck a tree, setting it into flames.

For some reason, the shrike managed to remain perched onto Jesse's shoulder without trouble. She was surprised that she hadn't been carried away by the wind yet.

"Sorry, I can't do anything about the weather. Notch's power is beyond my control."

"I didn't… _Hngghh…_ expect anything more… _gahh…_ from you anyway…"

It could have been minutes, hours or even an entire day that they have been caught out in the thunderstorm. It seemed like the road ahead of them was endless, until Jesse heard Petra shout triumphantly. "I see something up ahead!"

Hearing this instantaneously lifted Jesse's previously sour mood. Pure adrenaline coursed through her veins as a wide smile tugged at her lips. Finally, it was about time! She couldn't wait to seek shelter from this dreaded storm and change into some dry clothes!

Just up ahead, Jesse could make out a massive mountain. There was a small cave above just big enough to fit a few people inside. They carefully climbed the slippery surface of the mountain to reach the cave.

There were audible sighs of relief after they were inside. Petra and Jesse wringed their hair dry while Reuben shook his body wildly. All were trying to get rid of rainwater on their bodies except for the shrike who was surprisingly dry as parched earth during a drought. She stood a distance away from the drenched beings as she preened her feathers without a care in the world.

Reuben noticed the bird and oinked in surprise.

"Don't mind her, Reuben. She's just… weird." Jesse reassured as she petted him.

After Jesse said those words, Petra turned to face her while raising an eyebrow. "I hope you aren't talking about me."

"Oh no! I'm not talking about you, I-I was just… the bird…"

Petra chuckled and waved her hand as a form of dismissal. "Relax, I know you're talking about your bird. After all, you don't seem to be the ungrateful type of kid."

The redhead went to dig her haversack and retrieved some dry clothes. She tossed two pieces of clothing towards Jesse. "Sorry if the clothes are shabby and oversized. As I said before, this is all I have. I don't usually have a little kid tagging along with me, so cut me some slack."

"Oh no, it's quite alright! Beggars can't be choosers after all." _(How ironic),_ Jesse thought to herself.

Jesse felt a little uncomfortable changing in front of another person, but Petra just shrugged her off and told her that they were both girls, so there was nothing to be ashamed off. Despite that, Jesse felt her cheeks grow hot throughout the changing session. After they were done, they immediately went to catch up on some needed rest.

When dawn came, Jesse woke up to be greeted by soreness assaulting her entire body. It wasn't surprising, seeing as she was accustomed to sleeping on luxury mattresses. Petra on the other hand was (probably) accustomed to harsh conditions, so sleeping on rocky ground was no big deal to her.

They ate their breakfast of canned potatoes. It tasted like sandpaper, but neither of them complained.

After Jesse forced herself to finish her portion, she left the comfort of the cave for some fresh air. The storm had calmed to a light drizzle. There were trees that had collapsed or were burned due to lightning strikes, and the ground was littered with pile after pile of debris consisting of leaves, twigs and branches.

Jesse was still surveying the mess that last night's storm created, when she heard the shrike greeting her.

"Hey~" Her tone was awfully playful.

As usual, Jesse didn't reply, but the shrike carried on speaking anyway.

"Wanna hear a story? It has something to do with this very mountain that we are taking shelter in right now. In fact, it took place a couple of years ago, so it's still very recent.

"Anyway, this story is about a young boy. He was with his family on a hike. The boy tripped over a loose rock, took a nasty tumble… and broke his neck. His family never found his body. So I was hoping that we go on a little hike ourselves and perhaps stumble across his corpse! Doesn't that sound exciting?"

Jesse cried out in surprise. "The heck!?"

The shrike just laughed. "I was being sarcastic. What I actually want to share with you is that there is a fortress located in this mountain. Let me tell you, your daddy will never find you in there. It's much, _much_ safer than Redstonia. Don't you agree?"

A fortress deep in the mountains in the middle of nowhere? Of course! It was none other than godfather's fortress! Surely nobody would even think that a little girl would seek shelter in the mountains.

But… there was a flaw in the plan. Wouldn't her godfather question her arrival? What if she told him the truth, and he didn't believe her? Worse, he might even send her back!

"Oh, don't worry. Trust me, that fortress is the best hiding place in the world. I can guarantee that nobody would ever find you, even if they wanted to."

Despite the shrike's reassurance, Jesse still felt wary of the suggestion. How could she trust a magical talking bird?

Just then, Petra emerged carrying her haversack while resting her pickaxe that she was clutching on her right shoulder. She looked refreshed and ready to face the day ahead. "Ready to head off?"

"Uhm…"

Jesse turned to face the bird with uncertainty clouding her green eyes. She just tilted her head, as if waiting for a response.

"Is something wrong?" Petra asked, noticing the girl's discomfort.

"I'm confident that your godfather would understand." The shrike said reassuringly.

"Uhhh… well… I just thought… that we could...y'know, climb up the mountain instead? I heard that there was an abandoned fortress built there and I'm kinda curious…"

Hearing this, Petra raised an eyebrow. "But I thought you wanted to—"

"It's okay! That can wait! Can I visit the fortress, please?"

"How do you know that this fortress you speak of is located at _this_ mountain?"

"I'm sure of it! Trust me!" Jesse clasped both her hands into a prayer, giving Petra her best puppy dog eyes.

"... Fine. But after we check it out, it's back on track to Redstonia."

 **...**

It didn't take long before the duo were standing in front of a pair of large fancy doors made out of blue clay blocks with gold blocks as its border.

Wasting no time, Jesse walked up the quartz stairs and raised her arm to knock, when she heard the shuffling of pistons and the door shifted out of the way.

"Well that was easy." Petra shrugged as the group hurriedly stepped inside.

They walked further down to come across a massive pit with raised platforms scattered all around. A person had to parkour across the platforms in order to get across; it was the only way.

Petra leaped and landed on the nearest platform with little effort. She looked back at Jesse who was still rooted to the ground. "Come on! It's perfectly fine!"

Jesse shook her head profusely. "Nu-uh! It's scary! What if I slip!?"

"You'll be _fine,_ just as long as you believe in yourself and don't look down!"

Jesse looked around nervously. This whole parkour business was completely unnecessary—she knew an alternative route—because she had been in this fortress multiple times before. Those platforms were just obstacles to keep intruders out.

"I-I think I'll look for an alternative route. You go ahead and I'll catch up!"

"No way! You'll get lost in a huge foreign place like this! Come with me!" Petra said, stretching out her arm and flashing a reassuring smile. However, Jesse ignored it and ran towards another direction with her two animal companions trailing behind. Petra just sighed and continued on her own.

Meanwhile, Jesse headed to the corner and pushed open a door concealed by the shadows. She walked through a seemingly endless hallway, when she exited to a large hall with a glass roof allowing soft sunlight to stream in. A large model of the amulet was displayed proudly on the wall, along with statues decorated with different coloured blocks to represent each member of the Order.

Jesse could hear the splashing sound of water as Petra swam towards dry ground. She groaned in annoyance as she wringed her soaked red hair. However, when she took a glance at the exquisite architecture, her annoyance was replaced with awe.

"My, my. This is certainly… enchanting. This place is certainly not abandoned. And is that… the amulet of the Order Of The Stone?" Petra gasped as she rushed towards one of the statues and read the words engraved on a plaque: _Gabriel the Warrior_. "So all these statues represent each member of the Order. This must be one of the fortresses built by Soren the Architect; it has to be. This high level of architectural skill can only be done by the hands of the world's best architect."

 _(Thanks for pointing out the obvious.)_ Jesse thought.

Jesse tugged at Petra's sleeve. "Come on, let's go explore! Maybe we might bump into Soren along the way."

At this, Petra's face dawned with realisation. "Oh crap, we're trespassing into his property, aren't we?"

Jesse shook her head. "Nah, I'm pretty sure he's cool."

"Cool? Jane, I'm certain that Soren had his reasons for isolating himself from the rest of the world. While it's kinda awesome to locate his fortress after he went missing for years, I still think that it's best to leave him alone."

"Don't be a party pooper! Come ooooooon." Jesse whined.

Petra remained firm. "Where's your sense of respect? We have no good purpose to be here, and what are we going to tell Soren if we ever bump into him? We can't be telling him 'oh, I'm just here sightseeing.' He'll kick us out anyway. Let's just focus on our task and leave."

However, Jesse was unwilling to give up without a fight. There was no way she was going to give up her golden opportunity that was waving right in front of her face. Her godfather was a nice man; surely he would understand her predicament and welcome her with open arms.

Should she tell the truth to Petra? Jesse was tempted to, but on the other hand, what if she didn't believe her? What if Petra thought that she was just using it as an excuse to roam into Soren's home uninvited? There were so many possibilities, yet so many possibilities of crossing the line. After all, she had already lied to her once, and she didn't want to lose her as an ally.

"It's perfectly fine! Stop doubting yourself! Tell you what, I'll tell you everything once we meet Soren." Jesse grabbed Petra's hand and stared into her eyes. "Trust me, please!"

For a few nerve-racking moments, the redhead stared back, as if in deep consideration. She was terribly confused, not knowing whether to trust Jesse's words. After careful thinking, she shook her head. "I'm sorry Jane. All this… stuff you've been telling me, you expect me to take your word for it? Weren't you supposed to be meeting your relative at Redstonia? You then lead me to a supposedly abandoned fortress, which in reality, is clearly occupied. Now you want me to meet a member of the Order who went missing for years and explain everything to me? I just… don't know anymore. I have no idea what your business is with Soren, and I don't want to be a part of it. I want to keep things simple—it's either listening to me and returning back on task, or we part ways."

Jesse let out a horrified gasp. She gripped Petra's hand tighter, up to the point where her knuckles turned white. "Part ways!? No! You can't! You saved me back in Boom Town, remember?"

"As I said, I don't want to be involved in other people's business too much; I already have enough problems on my plate. I _did_ save you back there, because it was the right thing to do. But sticking my nose into your personal drama? No thanks. I was planning on parting ways after we reach Redstonia anyway."

With a jerk, Petra released her hands from Jesse's grip and stepped back into the water. Jesse yelled at her to come back, but she didn't pay any heed to the little girl's screeches and swam ahead.

When Petra was out of sight, Jesse let out a defeated cry and collapsed on her knees. She couldn't believe it—she had just lost a new ally, and a potential new friend. She bowed her head and sighed heavily, her long hair covering her face. She remained in that position for a while, wallowing in self-pity until she stood up and sucked in a deep breath.

She was not at her wits end yet. There was still hope that her godfather would shelter her in his home. If he agreed, then all her problems would be settled-she wouldn't need to worry about getting assassinated, suffer emotional abuse from her useless father, nor she needed to rely on Petra.

Reuben, who had been watching the entire argument nudged Jesse's skirt and beckoned her towards one of the hallways lined with redstone blocks. She did not hesitate and bravely walked into the hallway, bottling up her nervousness.

 **Guys, don't panic. Petra won't be excluded from the story, she will play an important role in the story later on.**


	8. VII--Apprehension

Revenant Girl

Chapter VII—Apprehension

Humming a tune to herself, Petra leaned against the rocky wall just beside the doors of the fortress. She looked up at the azure sky and focused on the clouds as they moved ever so slowly with aid from the wind. When she was bored of cloud gazing, she shifted her focus towards the door, hoping to see it burst open along with a specific little girl rushing out. However, the door remained firmly shut.

To be frank, Petra had said all those harsh words to Jane earlier as a means of scaring her. The redhead was adamant to trespass private property, as the last time she trespassed she suffered many bruises from the beatings of the owner of the property. Even though Soren wasn't likely to beat up trespassers, Petra still respected his privacy.

 _(When is she coming out? Oh Notch, please don't tell me that she decided to explore anyway…)_

It has been over half an hour, and as every minute passed the more unlikely it was for Jane to appear. Crap, Petra _did_ really need to chase after her.

Shaking off any doubt clouding her mind, Petra stepped into the fortress and in pursuit of Jane.

 **…**

"Godfather? Can you hear me? It's Jesse! Heeeyyyyyy!" Jesse yelled, her voice echoing throughout the empty hallway.

Due to the sheer size of the fortress, it seemed impossible to locate him. So Jesse started shouting, hoping that he could her. No luck so far.

"Holy Notch, your screaming hurts my ears." The shrike remarked.

"Do birds have ears?"

"Of course they do! Just because they aren't visible doesn't mean they don't have them!"

They exited the hallway and into a massive library. An endless sea of books were stacked onto numerous quartz shelves. It would almost be impossible for a person to finish reading all these books.

Jesse somehow vaguely remembered someone reading a couple of stories to her before, but she couldn't remember who. She could remember the deep, melodic voice of the storyteller as she read aloud the text from the pages.

As she continued walking, more and more memories of the story started entering her mind like water from a dam that had opened its floodgates.

— _performed a good luck charm—friends forever—_

It was as if her legs were being controlled by someone else. Jesse made a beeline towards a particular shelf and brushed her fingers across the spines of the books, until she paused at a certain book. She took it out to reveal…

"Awh man, it's not this one." She groaned as she threw the book to a corner.

Jesse continued to yank books at random off their shelf and gazed at their covers, only for her sigh in disappointment. After many minutes of sighing, Jesse gave up.

"You're looking at the wrong section, milady. It's right here." The shrike said as she hovered over another section of shelves.

— _tore the paper doll—wound up in an abandoned school—_

Jesse swatted the bird out of the way and continued her hunt for the book.

"Found iiiiiiittt!" Jesse yelled triumphantly as she raised the book over her head as if it were some sort of prestigious prize. It was a regular hardcover book with faded gold title lettering. To any other person, it was just a plain old book. However, it was an entirely different case for Jesse.

Reuben oinked curiously as he tried to get a glimpse of the cover.

"Land of The Corpses. My _favourite_ book! Mommy would have _never_ let me read this sort of stuff, but she's not here anymore, so I can do whatever I want~"

"Never knew a cute little brat like you would even be aware of the existence of literature like this…"

"Be quiet birdie, I want to read my book." Jesse snapped as she sat crossed-leg on the polished stone floor, flipped open the cover and began immersing herself in the story.

"Ey, aren't you supposed to be looking for your darling godfather?"

"That can wait!"

 **…**

" _NOOOOOOOOOO! STOOOPPPP! AHHHHHH! YAAHHHHHHHH!"_

 _Out of a sudden, the screams of a boy assaulted my ears. They were screams of primal terror and pain; it was unlike anything I've ever heard. His cries were accompanied by a supposedly sharp weapon being stabbed into his body._

Splat. Splat. Crunch. Splush.

 _The boy screamed in pure agony as the sounds of something wet and squishy were being forcefully pulled out. Since I was blindfolded, I guessed it must have been his…. innards._

 _Oh Notch, this is horrible! Just listening to his screams were absolute torture! Why would somebody be so cruel as to commit such atrocities?_

 _After what seemed like an eternity, the boy's screams came to a halt. However, the silence was broken by the screams of a girl as the murderer stabbed her repeatedly. I could hear blood spurting from her wounds as they splattered all over the wooden floor, while the girl begged and screamed for mercy._

 _I was on the verge of losing it. I have never been so frightened in my entire life. I have thought that horror movies were terrifying; oh how wrong I was! Why wasn't she granted unconsciousness? Why let her suffer!?_

 _I didn't know how much time had passed. The girl's voice finally ebbed away. For a brief moment I was glad that the torturous screams had stopped. But after the words that the murderer had muttered before he started the killings caused my heart to stop beating for a moment._

(In order! Oh Notch, why was I glad that the girl next to me died? I'm going to be next!)

 _All of a sudden, someone yanked at my hair and pulled me into a sitting position. My blindfold was then ripped off._

 _The sight before me was the most horrifying sight my eyes have ever laid upon._

 _The person before me was not the burly man that had captured, tied and blindfolded me._

 _It was…._

… _._

…

 _One of the…_

… _._

… _._

A deafening crash resonated throughout the library, causing Jesse to shriek. She stood up and scanned her surroundings. Numerous books that had somehow fallen off their shelf lay in a messy heap on the floor. Clearly someone or something had purposely disturbed the books as the shelves were sturdy. "Is someone there?" Jesse called out. There was momentary silence, and somewhere at the far corner of the library more books tumbled off their shelves.

Jesse eyed her surroundings warily as an unsettling feeling settled at the pit of her stomach. She tried reassuring herself that it was probably nothing, but a nagging voice at the back of her mind told her that someone else was in the library with her. Was it her godfather? Even if it was him, why would he be throwing his books that he painstakingly organised?

Reuben picked up her book with his mouth and handed it over to Jesse. She would read it later; right now she just wanted to get the heck out of the library.

Just as she stepped a foot out, more books came raining down. This made Jesse yelp as she made a mad dash out. She didn't stop until she was a good distance away from the library.

"What were you so freaked out about? Are falling books really that scary?" The shrike asked in false concern.

"It was unnatural."

"Uh huh, perfectly understandable. Falling books are enough to freak out the little princess. I wonder what would happen if…"

Jesse sharply turned to face the bird. "What?"

"Oh, nothing."

Jesse resumed calling out her godfather as the trio continued walking down endless hallways. However, after an hour of wandering aimlessly, he was just nowhere to be found. Jesse's throat was already sore and she was terribly thirsty. Thus she went to the nearest bathroom to freshen up before continuing on her search.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Jesse's reflection showed a worn-out girl with disheveled hair and shabby clothes that were twice her size. Her ragged appearance made her grimace. She was simply unpresentable, and the thought of her godfather seeing her in such a state was absolutely absurd.

After sorting out her hair and cleaning herself up, she went clothes hunting, checking every single room that had a wardrobe in hopes of finding a suitable shirt or dress that didn't make her look like a kid that had been rummaging through her parent's wardrobe.

Finally, after Jesse almost lost hope, she found a wardrobe that had clothing varying from shirts to pants that were all her size, including some shoes. Jackpot!

While browsing through the wide variety of clothing, she stumbled upon a red shirt paired with a suspender skirt—

 **…**

— _started with an accusation—blew into an argument—and a voice: "I hate you!"—_

 **…**

With a cry, Jesse yanked the shirt and suspenders from its hanger and threw it onto the ground. She scooted away from it as if it were some the most repulsive item in the world. Curious Reuben tried to inspect the clothing when Jesse pulled him away.

"The hell's wrong with you, missy?" The shrike said.

"Stay away from it!" Jesse snapped. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before returning to browse through the wardrobe.

She grabbed a white blouse that came with a green pinafore, along with a pair of black flats and socks. She also grabbed a pink tie that was strewn at the corner; thinking that a tie would make her look smart like the men that she saw at ballroom parties, and headed to the connected bathroom to change.

After exiting the bathroom, Jesse admired herself in the mirror, satisfied with her choice of clothes. At least she didn't look like a potato sack anymore.

 **…**

It had been well over a couple of hours and Jesse still had not found her godfather. She just assumed that he went out to do something, so she tried to make herself at home.

She headed to the pantries and grabbed some bread and fruits for herself and a few carrots for Reuben. For the shrike, Jesse just left her alone to do whatever, not caring whether or not she starved to death.

Jesse ate in silence, the only sound she heard was the crunching of carrots. It was suddenly interrupted by a high pitched voice, supposedly belonging to a young child.

" _Eeeeiiiii…"_

Jesse stopped chewing and looked around.

" _Ssssseiiiiiee…."_

"Did you hear something?" Jesse asked to nobody in particular. Reuben just looked at her obliviously.

 _(Probably just my imagination.)_

Just then, furious knocking on wood was heard. Jesse jumped, her heart suddenly racing. Her fear overpowered her appetite, and she was feeling extremely uneasy.

Jesse forced herself to finish her food before peeking outside the hallways. It was in the middle of the afternoon, and the atmosphere wasn't supposed to be scary. It would be understandable if it were nighttime, but if she felt scared during the afternoon, what was to say of her state of mind at night?

"There's nothing to be scared about, r-right Reuben?" Jesse said as she stood up and prepared to leave, when there was more knocking on wood as if in response to her question.

Jesse cried out, grabbing Reuben while dashing off blindly to find another place that she thought was safe.

In the end, Jesse decided to just hide in one of the many bedrooms until her godfather came back from doing whatever. She sat on the bed and read her book to kill time.

 **…**

"Jane! Hey, Jane! Can you hear me! Answer me!"

Petra yelled at the top of her lungs as she brisked walked through the hallways, hoping for a reply, or at least hear footsteps approaching her. To her dismay, she could only hear her own echo bouncing off the walls.

How big was this fortress? At this rate she would take forever to locate Jane!

Petra paused, trying to rack up a solution. What about leaving behind a note? Yes, maybe that would work!

"Apologies Soren, I hope you don't mind me 'borrowing' your stuff." Petra mumbled to nobody in particular as she grabbed a piece of paper, pen and some glue.

 _Dear Jane,_

 _Hey, it's Petra._

 _If you're reading this, sorry for leaving you behind. But I hope you're done exploring, so meet me at the room with the large pit with platforms. And whatever you do, don't piss off Soren._

 _P.S: I'm bad at describing; sorry._

With that, Petra applied some glue to the top of the paper and sticked it on the wall. Hopefully Jane could find it first before Soren did. She turned and left to stick a couple more notes around the fortress to increase the chances of Jane actually seeing them.

As soon as she left, the piece of paper was tilted slightly upwards as if someone was trying to get a better view of the note. The bottom half of the note remained suspended for a while, and out of nowhere a small blotch of blood appeared at the edge of the paper before it began to work its way across it. It was not long before the entire note was soaked in crimson blood, with excess blood dripping onto the floor.

The paper miserably fell onto the floor in a small pool of blood, accompanied by a bloody handprint that stained the wall.

It was a tiny handprint, supposedly belonging to a young child.

 **…**

Jesse could not count the number of times that she reread the book. At some point she began a discussion about the book with Reuben, but he was pretty much clueless about the terms such as 'corpses' and 'murder', so she gave up and instead talked to the shrike. The bird knew a startling amount of information on the themes in the book and gave Jesse a full in-depth analysis of it.

While she was talking about the murderer's backstory, the shrike was interrupted by a noise as if someone were scratching a chalkboard. Jesse shrieked.

"I hate the noises! Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"Milady, I suggest that you better shut up first because I'm not done speaking."

"But I've been hearing those noises ever since I stepped foot here! Can you check if anybody's outside?"

The shrike pondered for a moment before shaking her tiny head. "Nope!"

Jesse turned to Reuben. "What about you Reuben? Can you check on my behalf?"

Immediately Reuben oinked in approval, being the loyal friend he is. Jesse opened the door for the pig while he ran outside.

It was already twilight. The sun lazily sank its way down the horizon, casting brilliant orange sunlight across the sky. While the scenery was breathtaking, worry was latched onto her heart like a leech. It was not just the strange, unexplainable occurrences that she encountered.

Seriously, where the nether was her godfather? Why was he taking so long to finish whatever business he was up to?

While waiting for Reuben to return, Jesse continued to listen to the shrike's lengthy, explicit in-depth analysis of _Land of The Corpses._ Even after she took almost two hours to finish, Reuben still had not returned.

The worry that was present in Jesse's heart before now began to manifest into panic. What was taking Reuben so long? Surely something must have cropped up. Did he fall into a hole? Did he trip down a flight of stairs? Did he get himself injured?

"I suppose that if you want to know, why don't you go after your pet to find out?" The shrike suggested.

It was a logical and simple course of action, yet at the same time it seemed daunting. She was already spooked out by the strange noises, sinister whispers and unnatural falling books. Where would she find courage to venture out into the hallways when it was nearing night?

Jesse opened the door and peered outside. The sunlight streaming through the windows were already diminishing. Soon the entire fortress would be plunged into darkness, the only meek sources of light would be from the glowstone lamps.

There was a sudden thump on the wall, as if warning her not to proceed.

Jesse wanted to go after Reuben to check if he was alright, but the fear of the unknown stopped her from stepping out of her comfort zone.

"Well?" The shrike asked.

.

 **—Go after Reuben**

 **—It's too scary!**

.

 **Hi guys. After some thought, I decided to implement decision making in the story now, 'cause I have been watching too much Corpse Party walkthroughs. (Speaking of Corpse Party, did you get the reference? Or maybe I'm the only CP fan here... awww)**

 **This is how it works: In the next update, two chapters will be titled after the two choices above. Click on the chapter that is named after your choice. Keep in mind that one of the choices will lead you to a 'wrong end'.**

 **If you chose a wrong end, just select the correct choice and move on.**

 **If you chose the correct choice, at the bottom of the chapter you'll see:** **"Continue to Chapter (number)."**

 **For Wattpad readers, I would appreciate if you voted on the chapter choice that you guys first chose; I'm curious to see which option you guys took. After that, don't vote on the chapter choice that you didn't initially chose, please!**

 **Soooooo, I hope you like this new feature. Opinions on this feature would be greatly appreciated. And sorry if this chapter is short.**

 **P.S: Thanks for 1.4K views (on both Wattpad and FFnet)! I can't thank you guys enough!**


	9. Choice 1: GO AFTER REUBEN

–Go after Reuben

"I'm going after Reuben." Jesse said firmly.

"Oh?"

"He probably wandered off to find a snack and got lost in the process. I just need to find him and bring him back."

"Uh huh. Sure, you go on ahead. I'll stay here." The shrike said.

Taking in a deep breath, Jesse stepped out of the room. Immediately a wave of fear rippled down her spine, but she shrugged it off and pressed forward.

Jesse jogged while calling out Reuben's name frantically. By each passing minute, her cries became more desperate.

"Reuben! Reuuuuuben! Come out! It's not funny!"

After some time, it had gotten dark. The hallway was engulfed in darkness, with only glowstone lamps to guide her way. At night, the atmosphere was much more sinister.

Jesse tried calling out again, but her voice came out as dry rasps. It was then that she discovered that her throat was terribly parched after yelling so much. She desired to take a break and search for some water, but she wanted to find Reuben as quickly as possible so that she could return to the comfort of a safe, well-lit room. Eventually, Jesse's throat gave up on her, thus she sidetracked for a while to grab some water from the pantries.

Thankfully, Jesse had no trouble searching for a bottle of water. She chugged down the bottle's contents, enjoying how the cool liquid slid down her throat and relieved her thirst.

 _Knock._

Jesse jumped, nearly choking on her water. _(Please let it be my imagination…)_

 _Knock, knock, knock._

The bottle that she was holding slipped from her grasp, crashing onto the floor and spilling water all over. However, the mess that she made was the least of her concerns.

The knocking became more furious and came more frequently. Soon the entire room was filled with fierce knocking, giving Jesse a massive headache and a panic attack. She covered her ears in an attempt to block out the noise, but to no avail.

It was too much for Jesse to bear. She attempted to make a break for it-only to slip and fall on her bottom.

"Owww…"

Jesse slowly stood up, cringing as she felt her soaked skirt weighing her down. She had forgot about the puddle of water in front of her. How stupid.

" _Tch."_

Ignoring the voice, Jesse hobbled out of the pantry room and out to the hallways. With her throat in better condition, she called out for Reuben again.

"Oink!"

An excited gasp escaped Jesse's lips. "Reuben?"

"Oink!"

The sound was soft, but it was definitely the sound of a pig.

"Reuben! I'm coming! Just hang on!" Jesse yelled as she sprinted towards the direction of the sound. Reuben continued to cry out for his friend, and as his sounds grew louder, Jesse pushed herself to run faster.

Finally, at the end of a long hallway, Jesse could make out something tiny curled up into a ball. Upon further inspection the tiny thing was pink, and that meant it was no other than…

"Reuben!" Jesse cried out in relief as she made a mad dash towards her pig, when all of a sudden, a sharp screech resounded and a tall, stick figure teleported right in front of her path. To Jesse's horror, it was an enderman.

Instinctively, Jesse bowed her head and shielded her eyes with her hands. She backed away slowly, and then she noticed from the position of the enderman's feet, it was facing the other direction.

Reuben tilted his head up. When he saw his friend, he squealed in joy and dashed towards her.

It might have been a case of the enderman mistaking Reuben's actions as an act of aggression against it, as the mob let out another one of its ear-splitting screeches and grabbed Reuben with its bony arms.

Reuben squealed in fright as he tried to wriggle out of the enderman's grasp, but this provoked it more and it tightened its hold onto the piglet.

Jesse watched through the gaps from her fingers. She wanted to stop the hostile mob, but how? She was unarmed, and even if she had weapon, she would most likely lose the fight and get killed in the process.

The enderman brought Reuben towards its face. It was silent for a while before it let out a screech of absolute pain and agony.

What happened next would always remain in Jesse's mind for the rest of her life.

The enderman raised its right arm and brought its sharp fingers down onto the piglet. Reuben let out a bloodcurdling scream as the enderman started to dig its fingers into his flesh.

Jesse's eyes widened in pure terror as a scream escaped her throat. No test or exam had prepared her for this situation. All she could do was cower and hyperventilate as she watched her dear pig get ripped apart.

There was another pained scream, and the enderman's raised its right arm, supposedly tearing away a part of Reuben. Crimson blood spilled onto the floor, along with droplets of blood that dripped from the enderman's hand. Something round was being held between the enderman's bony fingers, and letting out a sound that mimicked a giggle, it crushed the fragile round item.

The enderman carelessly dropped Reuben and teleported away, leaving faint specks of purple mist in its wake.

Jesse gingerly lowered her hands, preparing for whatever sight she would see.

Reuben lay sprawled in a pool of his own blood mixed with an unknown purple fluid, his breathing deathly shallow. A number of cuts and wounds adorned his body, but those injuries were nothing.

His left eye socket was empty, and blood poured out from the wound like a waterfall.

Jesse's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, and tears streamed down her eyes. She was too shocked to even scream.

"Aahh… hahh…"

Jesse hesitantly bent down and reached out towards Reuben's carcass. It was so _cold._

"I-I… I'm…"

She tried wiping the blood off Reuben's face using her hands, but not only was it unsuccessful, it caused her hands to be thoroughly soaked with red fluid.

"...s-sor…y… I couldn't… s-s-save you…"

In absolute defeat, Jesse plonked herself next to the corpse, not caring about her skirt being stained with blood. Her hand rested against Reuben's icy cold face, staring into his good eye which was was wide open and bloodshot.

If only she did something, _anything!_ Why did she stand there like a complete idiot? A lot of _if only_ scenarios flooded her mind, filling her to the brim with pure guilt.

There was a note sticking onto the wall, soaked in the same purple fluid that was mixed with Reuben's blood. The words were written in bright red ink… or was it blood?

 _PIGGY GO SPLAT!_

 _ **~WRONG END~**_

 **Ppfftttt**

 **Ha**

 **Haha**

 **Hahahaha**

 **Well, since I know that everyone will choose this option, I had to add the twist. Sorry if I attacked your feels.**

 **Wait why the fack am I apologizing this story is meant to be filled with feels.**


	10. Choice 2: IT'S TOO SCARY

—It's too scary!

As soon as Jesse took a step out, fear overwhelmed her body and she immediately retreated back.

"What's wrong? Too scared?" The shrike mocked.

As much as Jesse wanted to go after Reuben, she couldn't find the courage to even enter the darkness, not after hearing the strange noises.

At least, she didn't want to go out unarmed.

"Face it milady, you're just a coward."

Jesse turned to face the bird with an angry scrowl. "No I'm not! It's just dangerous out there!"

"Uh huh, and yet you sent your equally defenceless pig outside to check for danger." The shrike tilted her head to the right. "That animal's stubby little legs can't make it run fast, now can it? It's also incapable of defending itself. If something dangerous were to ever approach it…

"It'll go _splat_ before you know it!"

Those harsh words caused Jesse to flinch. It did have a certain level of truth in it, all the more making her feel guilty.

Jesse was at a loss; she didn't know what to do at all. If only Petra were here, what would she do?

Of course, she would tell Jesse to stop chickening out and press on while arming herself with her trusty pickaxe.

Arming herself, huh…

Jesse started searching the room for anything she could use as a weapon—preferably something sharp. Conveniently, she found a pair of sewing scissors tucked away at the bottom drawer of the desk. The blades looked sharp and clean as if it were perfectly new.

Jesse started opening and closing the scissors to test its durability, the snipping sounds strangely giving her a sense of security. She then continued to repeatedly open and close the scissors, filling the room with the snips of the twin blades scraping against one another while staring at the tool with extreme fascination.

 **…**

 _—flashed out something shiny-blade glistened under the moonlight_ _—_

 _"Look! I stole this!"_

 **...**

 _(What… snap out of it!)_

Immediately, Jesse halted her actions completely, leaving the scissors half opened. Since she already found a weapon, she should start searching for Reuben.

Taking in a deep breath, Jesse stepped out of the room. Immediately a wave of fear rippled down her spine, but she shrugged it off and pressed forward.

Jesse jogged while calling out Reuben's name frantically. By each passing minute, her cries became more desperate.

"Reuben! Reuuuuuben! Come out! It's not funny!"

After some time, it had gotten dark. The hallway was engulfed in darkness, with only glowstone lamps to guide her way. At night, the atmosphere was much more sinister.

Jesse tried calling out again, but her voice came out as dry rasps. It was then that she discovered that her throat was terribly parched after yelling so much. She desired to take a break and search for some water, but she wanted to find Reuben as quickly as possible so that she could return to the comfort of a safe, well-lit room. Eventually, Jesse's throat gave up on her, thus she side-tracked for a while to grab some water from the pantries.

Thankfully, Jesse had no trouble searching for a bottle of water. She chugged down the bottle's contents, enjoying how the cool liquid slid down her throat and relieved her thirst.

 _Knock._

Jesse jumped, nearly choking on her water. _(Please let it be my imagination…)_

 _Knock, knock, knock._

The bottle that she was holding slipped from her grasp, crashing onto the floor and spilling water all over. However, the mess that she made was the least of her concerns.

The knocking became more furious and came more frequently. Soon the entire room was filled with fierce knocking, giving Jesse a massive headache and a panic attack. She covered her ears in an attempt to block out the noise, but to no avail.

It was too much for Jesse to bear. She made break for it-only to slip and fall on her bottom.

"Owww…"

Jesse slowly stood up, cringing as she felt her soaked skirt weighing her down. She had forgot about the puddle of water in front of her. How stupid.

 _"Tch."_

Ignoring the voice, Jesse hobbled out of the pantry room and out to the hallways. With her throat in better condition, she called out for Reuben again.

"Oink!"

An excited gasp escaped Jesse's lips. "Reuben?"

"Oink!"

The oink was soft, but it was definitely the sound of a pig.

"Reuben! I'm coming! Just hang on!" Jesse yelled as she sprinted towards the direction of the sound. Reuben continued to cry out for his friend, and as his sounds grew louder, Jesse pushed herself to run faster.

Finally, at the end of a long hallway, Jesse could make out something tiny curled up into a ball. Upon further inspection the tiny thing was pink, and that meant it was no other than…

"Reuben!" Jesse cried out in relief as she made a mad dash towards her pig, when all of a sudden, a sharp screech resounded and a tall, stick figure teleported right in front of her path. To Jesse's horror, it was an enderman.

Instinctively, Jesse bowed her head and shielded her eyes with her hands. She backed away slowly, and then she noticed from the position of the enderman's feet, it was facing the other direction.

Reuben tilted his head up. When he saw his friend, he squealed in joy and dashed towards her.

It might have been a case of the enderman mistaking Reuben's actions as an act of aggression against it, as the mob let out another one of its ear-splitting screeches and grabbed Reuben with its bony arms.

Reuben squealed in fright as he tried to wriggle out of the enderman's grasp, but this provoked it more and it tightened its hold onto the piglet.

Jesse watched through the gaps from her fingers. She needed to save Reuben… yes, the scissors!

"Don't hurt my pig!"

Grabbing the sewing scissors from her pocket, Jesse held its handle with a death grip and with all her might, impaled the blades into the back of the enderman. The enderman screamed in agony and dropped Reuben. Jesse quickly yanked the scissors out, only to stab the mob again.

It teleported away, which gave Jesse the chance to get to Reuben. She knelt down beside him as he quivered like a leaf in fear. To calm him down, Jesse hugged the piglet to her chest, not caring about the purple fluid that coated her hands after she stabbed the enderman.

"It's okay boy, I'm here, I'm here. Don't be scared…"

 ** _~Continue to Chapter VIII~_**

 **For those who initially chose this option, congrats! Moving on~**


	11. VIII--Tension

Revenant Girl

Chapter VIII—Tension

The screech of the enderman broke the tender reunion between the two friends. Jesse immediately got into a defensive stance while shielding Reuben. She scanned her surroundings for her target, and for a moment nothing happened. Jesse didn't let her guard down, though.

Holding the stained scissors close to her side, Jesse tentatively took a few steps forward with Reuben following close behind. Still nothing.

"Reuben, as usual, stay close. Don't _ever_ wander off by yourself, okay?" Jesse ordered in a dead serious tone.

Just as her back was turned, the enderman teleported behind her. Sensing its presence, Jesse's shoulders tensed up. To nether with looking at it in the eye—she had already enraged it by attacking it.

With a cry, Jesse turned to face the mob while brandishing her weapon.

When she saw the mob however, she wished that it was just her imagination.

The enderman's neck was snapped, hanging limply on its right shoulder. To Jesse's absolute horror, its right eye was horribly mutilated. Purple fluid flowed out from the mush that used to be an eye like a waterfall. The mob stared at Jesse with its good eye accusingly as if blaming her for its misfortune.

It then opened its mouth and let out a ragged scream as it reached out towards her…

"GYAHH! STAY BACK!" Jesse screeched as she stabbed the enderman's hand. It quickly shrank back its arm, giving Jesse and Reuben the chance to escape.

What happened to that enderman? Who or what attacked it? Was it another enderman, or was it a human? Best case scenario: it was attacked by another enderman, while the worst case scenario:

It was attacked by someone or something else.

That was the worst part—Jesse didn't know who or what that was capable of inflicting that much damage to one of the most hostile mobs in the Overworld.

Was there an intruder, or…

Gulping, Jesse shook her head in denial. Now was not the time to allow her imagination to go _too_ wild.

Jesse continued running, not daring to look behind. She focused on her sole destination: the comfy, secure bedroom.

Left, left, right, left, right, right. After this, she should reach the bedroom.

"Huh?"

To Jesse's surprise, she had stumbled upon a dead end.

But she was absolutely sure that she was going the right way! Maybe she made a small mistake along the way.

Left, left, right, left, right, left.

This time however, she ended up in a kitchen.

It's okay, Jesse just needed to try again!

Left, left, right, left, left, left.

The armoury? Never mind, she could still turn back her tracks.

Left, left, right, right, left, left.

Left, left, left, right, left, left.

Left, left, right, right, left, left.

Left, right, right, right, left, left.

Right, right, right, right, left, left.

Left, right, left, right, left, left.

 _(...No…_

 _(This can't be!_

 _(I'm…!)_

No matter where she went, Jesse just couldn't end up at her destination. Even after going through all the possible combinations, the bedroom was just nowhere to be found. Heck, she couldn't even find any more spare rooms to rest in.

Could she be… lost?

That was clearly impossible; it was not Jesse's first time here. She had been running through these hallways when she was young, and she knew her way around at the back of her hand.

Reuben seemed to sense Jesse's distress and hugged her legs as a gesture of comfort. She knelt down and hugged him back, enjoying the comfort of a trusted friend.

 _Squish._

Turning around, Jesse's eyes widened. On the wall was a bloody handprint, along with three words written in red. Or was it blood?

 _SURPRISE_

The duo scooted away from the wall in terror. This certainly wasn't the happy kind of surprise that one would get during their birthday party; there was a strong sense of malice behind it, and it was no doubt connected to the mutilated enderman that she saw earlier. Was it the work of a vengeful ghost?

But why would said ghost want to harm her? She didn't do anything wrong.

 **…**

— _with a shove-screamed-"I didn't do anything wrong!"_ _—_

 **…**

"Godfather, where are you?" Jesse called out in a meek voice. If there was a time for him to appear, now was the time.

Only silence greeted her.

 **…**

"Holy Notch, how big is this place?"

Petra took a sip of water from her canteen and looked around. So far she had pasted four notes and she had just pasted her fifth not long ago. It was already night, and she was worried about Jane assuming that she was scared of the dark like any typical girl. She would be expecting her to be cowering in a corner in fear, wanting to leave the fortress as fast as she could.

Though they would need to set shelter for the night before continuing their journey.

Petra didn't want to admit it, but her legs were beginning to ache after walking around so much.

As she turned a corner, she noticed a small pile of something red. Upon closer inspection, it was a piece of crumpled paper soaked thoroughly in a puddle of red ink, along with a red handprint etched on the wall. Judging by the size, it looked like a child's handprint.

The piece of paper had to be her notes to Jane. But why would it become the state as it is now? Perhaps Soren did this as some kind of warning that he wasn't accepting visitors. It was one heck of a strange warning, but it was surprisingly effective. The red ink looked so much like blood.

If that were the case, it meant that she needed to get out of here, and fast.

Suddenly, there was a low moan. It was very unlikely for it to be a stray mob; complete darkness was required for a monster to spawn.

She tightened her grip on the handle as she cautiously stepped ahead, another moan reaching her ears.

 _Splosh._

Out of nowhere, another red handprint emerged on the wall. Petra became extremely uneased by this phenomenon. This certainly wasn't normal.

"Who's there? Stop hiding and show yourself!" Petra yelled challengingly, baring her teeth as she glared at the darkness.

Seriously, was Soren really _that_ annoyed by their presence? Then again, was it really Soren's work in the first place? Unless he was some sort of wizard, there was no way that he could conjure tiny red handprints out of nowhere.

 _Poof._

With a cry, Petra spun around and slashed her sword, a smile curving her lips when the blade sank deep into flesh. When she looked up however…

The black mob let out a scream as it lashed out at her face with its sharp claws. Petra deflected its attack with her sword, but it used its other hand to clutch onto the blade with an incredible amount of strength that she had trouble getting her weapon out of its grasp.

The enderman bent down to look at the redhead in the eye. It took all her effort to not throw up on the spot.

The enderman's right eye socket was completely clean of any orbital contents and part of its mouth was horribly mutilated with large amounts of purple fluid spilling out from its wounds. It flowed down its cheek, to its jaw, to its neck, to the floor and some onto Petra's outstretched arm. The cold fluid on her arm made her shiver in disgust.

"Let. Me. Go. You disgusting piece of shit." Petra demanded, trying to sound as threatening as possible. However, the mob still refused to give in, digging its claws deeper into the metal. "I said… LET GO!" Petra yelled. With a war cry, she exerted all her might and broke her sword free from the enderman's grasp, slicing its chin in the process.

It let out strangled cries and chokes as staggered backwards, its left eye rolling upwards. Petra remained in a battle stance, waiting for its next move. Seeing itself at the losing end, the mob turned and made a retreat. However, it only made a few steps before collapsing along with purple fluid pooling on the floor. The body and the fluids soon dissipated into white steam, leaving no trace behind.

Petra inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm her nerves. The events that had occurred screamed danger and possible death if she stayed. She needed to find Jane, _now,_ before she gets herself hurt.

 _Splat._

 _(Oh no…)_

Another handprint.

Petra glanced back and forth between the hallway and the handprint. She let out a horrified gasp as red words started to appear on the wall as if someone were writing them with a fine paintbrush.

 _YOU CAN'T RUN._

 _YOU CAN'T HIDE._

 _I'LL CHASE YOU TILL YOU DIE._

 _._

 ** _[NOTE: Illustration for this chapter is only available on Wattpad]_**

 ***Rises from the dead***

 **Holy Notch, I'm so sorry for leaving you hanging for months. Also, an apology in advance cause the next four months for me is gonna be hectic (big exam, getting attached to Attack On Titan fanfics [coughRirenficscough] and procrastinating… y'know the usual stuff), so probably no updates till mid-November. The best case scenario is an update before September, but I'm the procrastinating Queen, so that's very unlikely.**

 **I'm pretty sure future chapters are gonna force me rate the story mature, just a heads up.**

 **In the meantime, please entertain me with your comments/ theories and whatnot. You guys make me feel famous.**

 ***Falls back into grave***


End file.
